White Flag
by CraftyBynamite
Summary: UP FOR ADOPTION: Betrayed and lied to by the one person he trusted the most, Harry accompanies Remus to Forks, where they both try to find a normal life in the hopes of finding happiness.It's a pity that trouble always finds Harry.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction

AN: Okay, anyone who has been reading Corrupción e Ilusiones probably will want to shoot me when they see this. My promises of updates once a month were pretty much ripped to shreds as soon as I started my final year of school, and now I have exams and coursework which I'm struggling to do. This is a hobby, so it's a case of I'll update when I can. Just know that whilst I'm not abandoning ANY of my stories, I'm not gonna put my place at a university at risk because I'm not spending enough time on work.

This is the prologue (thus the shortness), and the first chapter is well on it's way.

* * *

**White Flag**

I can't say I've never given much thought to how I'd die. Quite the contrary, actually. For the past four years or so I'd done nothing but think about such a depressing matter.

How could I not?

With the madman who killed your parents constantly at your heels, it would seem inevitable that you'd die by his hands.

Like fate…

Then there was that prophecy. That prophecy which ruined _everything_. It made what we all feared set in stone and shattered all my hopes of ever having a happy life with the people I loved.

It killed my faith…no…that's a lie.

That _bastard _killed my faith.

I'd gotten careless. I'd forgotten what it was like to live in fear. All because he made me forget. I should be angry at him for it, but how could I? How could I have a negative emotion for the one I love the most in this dark world?

It's impossible, you know?

My laboured breathing brings me back to the here and now. Its rhythmic sound, which is loud in my ears, helps ground my focus. The coppery smell of blood fills my nostrils. The taste of it dances across my tongue. My eyes are probably dilated from the adrenaline coursing through my body. It numbs the pain which still makes me feel like my whole body is on fire. That's how bad this pain is.

I look into the eyes of my attacker. Those cold, cruel eyes which are both foreign and familiar to me at the same time.

I look into those eyes and all I can think is that I wish I could speak.

Just so I could tell him the truth.

'_You are the worst kind of scum.'_

_

* * *

_AN2: Once again, this is a prologue, the first chapter is a LOT longer than this, but I'm not going to post it until I have a beta-reader pick through it. Speaking of which, can anyone interested in beta-reading this fic and maybe Corrupción (Bleach anime) please pm or email me? I have been looking for a while, but no joy so far.

Finally, thanks for reading, and you can check my Livejournal for news on updates for any of my projects (under bittersweet_mis, check my profile).


	2. Why Pain's the Only Way to Happiness

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction

AN: Okay, here's the first official chapter to White Flag. I had it done before the prologue, but I really wanted it beta'd before I posted it. So, some credit definitely has to got to **Kirallie** and **The Group of One** for their joint effort in correcting my mistakes in this chapter.

A note on content: I'm strictly British, so the only time you'll get an American dialect from this is when an American character is speaking/thinking. This is the first and only time I'll say this, just a head's up.

Updates from now on will probably be once per month, although I will not probably update from May-June because of my final exams.

* * *

**Why Pain's the Only Way to Happiness **

_And you're asking me why pain's the only way to happiness_,  
_But I promise you you'll see the sun again_.

_-See the Sun - Dido_

__________

"_We'll take it together. . . On three."_

_One . . . _

_Two . . ._

_Three . . . _

_AVADA KEDAVRA!_

"_Your arm Wormtail . . . No, your other one."_

_CRUCIO!_

_EXPELLIARMUS!_

"_Take my body back, Harry, please."_

"_I won't forget you."_

"_I'll always . . ."_

"_. . . Love you"_

)(0)(

In the smallest bedroom of Number Four, Privet Drive, one Harry Potter lurched forward in his bed after reliving some of the most painful memories of his life. The teenage wizard blinked for a few seconds, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness and the haze from his dreams to clear away from his mind. Harry squinted at the bright blue numbers on his alarm clock and groaned, flopping back onto his mattress. 11.48.

'_Great.'_ Harry thought to himself, _'I can't sleep at least one bloody hour without getting these damn nightmares.' _He rolled over to face Hedwig's now empty cage with a sigh. He hoped his beloved owl was okay with Hermione, she was the best choice to Harry in the ten minutes that he'd had after coming home and being subjected to Vernon Dursley's cruel threats.

Still, Harry would take the Dursleys over Hogwarts any day. Here there were no surprises around every corner; there was no pressure to live up to the expectations of strangers, there was no being watched or judged every minute of every day. Despite the happy times that he spent at Hogwarts, Harry didn't think that he could stand another year in that place…in the Gryffindor common room where he, Hermione and Ron had conspired with Sirius Black, marauder extraordinaire. Nor could Harry pretend that his already broken heart wasn't crumbling every time when he passed the hidden corners where whispers were shared and sweet kisses stolen. Harry could no longer sacrifice his sanity or his well being by keeping up the farce that was Harry Potter – The Idiot in Love with Unobtainable Cho Chang.

No, Cedric Diggory meant so much more to the young wizard. And whilst Harry wouldn't speak up about their relationship, he would never deny the love that they had both felt for each other.

Distracting himself, Harry tried to think about less painful topics like Fred and George's new joke shop, his much anticipated stay at Grimmauld Place as well as his upcoming sixteenth birthday. It was impossible; he'd spent too long thinking about it already. Harry reached under his bed and quietly slid out a photo album and flipped to a specific page. He propped the book against his clock so that as Harry fell asleep again, the last thing he saw was a photograph of the late Cedric Diggory.

)(0)(

Remus frowned for what felt like the umpteenth time as he once again went through the Ministry forms in his hands. He examined each one carefully and every now and then, his gaze would flick over to the set of keys by his mug.

"You can't put it off, you know." A voice piped up from the doorway.

The werewolf looked up to meet Nymphadora Tonks' amused face. "Wotcher, Remus." The clumsiest Auror known to wizardkind was leaning on the doorframe to the Grimmauld Place library smiling sympathetically with electric blue hair framing her face.

"I know, I know." Remus sighed. He pushed the papers away from him and shifted in his seat. Tonks took the armchair in front of him. "It's just that I want to leave this place. I mean, there's nothing tying me to Grimmauld Place…or England for that matter."

"What about the Order?"

"Oh, please! You know as well as I do how productive Dumbledore's Order is." Tonks hummed in agreement.

"But then why all the fuss?" The metamorphmagus asked before she answered her own question. "You don't want to leave Harry behind…or Sirius."

"That's right." Remus confirmed. "Even though he won't be giving up his magic, I highly doubt that Harry will want to leave behind his friends or Hogwarts for me…I'm being selfish just considering it. And as for Sirius? I for one refuse to believe that my friend is dead. There _has_ to be something more to that damned veil." Remus muttered his tone becoming angry as he spoke of the man who many believed to be deceased.

"Harry wants you in his life more than you can comprehend, especially after all that palaver last year. Sirius was exactly what that boy needed, you knew it and you let yourself take the backseat, but I know that you've always been looking out after Harry… McGonagall told me so." Here, Remus tried to speak up but failed. "She said that you were always asking after him, straight from his first year. _You_ paid for half of his first broom-"

"I had savings which I'd never use!"

"Oh be quiet you!" Tonks scolded him. "You've been wearing the same clothes for years and you've gotten a job in the muggle world so it's not like you don't have enough money for some new clothes."

"Is it a crime for me to want to save my money?"

"Yes! It is with robes like _that_!"

"What exactly is wrong with my-" Remus started after he examined his rather worn robes. "Oh, for Merlin's sake Nymphadora! This is getting rather ridiculous."

"Do _not_ call me _Nymphadora_, Remus!" Tonks ordered, her face flushing and her hair turning an incredibly angry shade of red.

"Well I wouldn't, but you're making such a big fuss out of this!" Lupin shouted.

"So are you!" Tonks retorted angrily.

Both the wizard and witch paused, breathing heavily. Unable to find a logical response, Remus Lupin did the only thing that he felt he could do…

He burst into a hearty laughter and the deep sound of it startled Tonks into releasing an odd squeak at the unexpected yet refreshing sound.

"What on Earth is so funny, Remus?"

Remus' laughter only grew when he saw Tonks with her hands on her hips.

"Remus!"

The sound of Remus' laughter died down as the man struggled to catch his breath. "I'm sorry Tonks." He apologised. "It's just that, well, you should really see yourself. You look almost like Molly Weasley!"

Tonks scowled briefly, and then opened her mouth, ready to defend herself before she paused for a moment, thinking about what Remus said. "Okay, I can see where you're coming from." She said, a bit too quickly. The Auror then dissolved into a peal of giggles, the force of which caused her frame to shake slightly. Tonks did sober from her fit of laughter when she saw the depressed expression on her friend's face. "Oh, Remus," She sighed. "You can't keep torturing yourself for something that none of us could have prevented…you have to let Harry make up his own mind. When he does, you might be surprised." Tonks scowled when her words had no effect. "Well in the least, you need to stop thinking about these thoughts. It's not doing you any good whatsoever. We all miss Si-" Tonks stopped abruptly, placing her hands over her mouth, knowing that she was speaking out of place. She was lucky when Remus only stared into the distance, not paying attention anymore. A silence which could be considered awkward fell into place, and Tonks suddenly found the carpet quite interesting.

"I want to take him with me, Tonks." Remus said suddenly, his lips forming a bitter smile. "This…this world we live, it's not right for him. Yes it's opened doors for Harry and given joy to him, but the bad outweighs the good! Harry doesn't deserve all this pain, this misery, this…shit!" The werewolf's voice darkened into a low growl. "He shouldn't have the eyes of every witch or wizard on him twenty four–seven. They shouldn't be picking holes in him when they've all done only Merlin-knows-what! My cub should never have had to fight Voldemort, let alone have heard of him! And as for Dumbledore? I have absolutely no idea what goes on in that idiot's head. I mean, come on, Quirrell had Voldemort installed in the back of his head for a disturbingly large amount of time and Albus didn't get suspicious!"

"Not everyone's infallible, Remus, you should know that."

"I know, I know, trust me when I say that I do. But did you know that Harry watched his teacher burn? Die from his burning touch…Harry must have gone through so much trauma that night…and from what Minerva tells me, all Albus did was go and reassure that the Philosopher's Stone was safe and that Harry did indeed kill Quirrell. How much guilt do you think Harry went through? And Albus just shipped him back to the Dursley's! It's complete and utter bollocks!"

"Easy Remus," Tonks soothed. "You'll get the whole house up here."

"Who cares anymore?"

At that point, a heavy footfall could be heard coming up the stairs. "It's all right, Tonks." Kingsley Shacklebolt called out. He entered the library and propped himself against the wall by the doorway. "Everyone left a while back, I'm the only one here. I kicked Dumbledore out just after you escaped the kitchen." Here, Kingsley chuckled. "I'm surprised you didn't hear all the fuss and shouting." He commented.

"I put a noise limiter spell on this room when I moved in." Remus explained softly. He didn't see a point in keeping his anger any longer, it wasn't productive and he would only hurt his friends. The werewolf did give his friend a grateful smile for distracting him.

"Ah." Kingsley understood; the house could get noisy with people coming in and out all the time.

"What? Great-aunt Wally wake up again?" Tonks asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Only after Molly accidentally woke her up. She was very upset." Kingsley sighed.

"What was she doing?" Remus asked, concerned for the Weasley matriarch.

"Molly? Having a nervous breakdown. She's been affected more than we think"

"Poor, woman." Tonks sighed sympathetically. They'd all been affected by the loss of Sirius, even Molly Weasley who had lost a sparring partner in the dog animagus. "What happened?"

"Dumbledore _ordered_ her to start redecorating. She burst into tears afterwards, and then her kids had to take her out."

"What right does he have?" Remus questioned rhetorically. "I don't believe the nerve of that man. This is _my_ home now!, Sirius left it to me and Harry, Dumbledore had no right to ask that of poor Molly…even though the decorating really is vile in here."

Kingsley smirked at Remus' afterthought. "Albus caused a lot of damage with his words, he wasn't even sorry."

"Speaking of this being your home, are you sure you don't mind us living here?" Tonks asked, gesturing towards herself and Kingsley whilst she tried to change the subject before her friend got upset over Dumbledore again.

"I prefer having company than living alone and it's more convenient for the both of you…and besides, I'll be moving out soon enough." Remus said, trailing off into a sigh. Halfway into February, he'd been given his two-month's notice from his landlord. Apparently the man wanted to sell and Remus simply couldn't afford the price of the country house, even with his savings and the currency change from their money into pounds. After he got evicted, Remus had gotten a room in a B and B, it didn't eat up much of his funds and the owners hadn't asked questions when he disappeared. That had lasted until Sirius found out and got offended that his friend hadn't asked for a room at Grimmauld Place. He'd settled into a spare room, but in his grief he had soon moved into the room where Sirius used to sleep. After receiving the deeds to the property, Remus had asked Kingsley and Tonks to move in, for they were the ones who spent the most time at Headquarters.

"I heard about that," Shacklebolt grinned when both his housemates blushed. "I'll support you and Harry whatever happens…As will Arthur and his lads. I wouldn't count on Molly or her daughter though."

"Aww, Kings is a real gentleman." Tonks teased.

"And you, my dear, are a pest."

Tonks stuck her tongue out at her superior before she got up and hugged both of the men. "Night, you two!" She called out as she left the room. Both men bade their friend goodnight before turning to each other.

"Well," Remus began. "These are all in order." He nodded towards the papers he'd set aside. "I just need to get Harry to sign them if he decides to come."

"He will, don't you worry." Kingsley assured his companion. He gathered the forms in one hand and pulled Remus to his feet with the other. "Come on, Lupin. Bed. Being worried is bad for the health, even that of a werewolf."

Kingsley led Remus to his bedroom door, silent as ever. However, Remus couldn't ignore that the other man had failed to let go of his hand. "Uhh…Kingsley?" Remus began, hesitating and unsure of the situation.

"You should laugh more, Remus." Kingsley declared to the smaller man suddenly. "You've been unhappy for far too long." He commented.

"Where exactly are you going with this, Kingsley?" Remus asked suspiciously. "What are you trying to s-mmph!"

Remus blinked owlishly at the warm feeling on his lips, stunned by Kingsley's sudden and unexpected kiss. The contact last a few seconds before Kingsley moved his mouth away, his expression was indecipherable, making Remus feel even more uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, Kingsley," Remus murmured sadly in the dark. "But I can't reciprocate your feelings."

He was rather surprised however, when Kingsley simply smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. It must be hard." The auror said before retiring to his room, not saying anything apart from a low "Goodnight Remus."

Remus was left alone in the dark staring at the horrid wallpaper peeling from the opposite wall. "Eh?" he asked the empty hallway before he shook his head and turned to enter Sirius' old room.

)(0)(

The twenty-fifth of July began with Harry packing away his meagre possessions fairly early in the morning. He had received a letter from Remus asking if it was possible for him to be picked up a week earlier. Harry had responded that yes, it was fine, seeing as his aunt would be walking out on her husband and son by the end of the week- And, did the order know that this was happening?

After placing his books and clothes in his trunk, Harry carefully wrapped his father's invisibility cloak around the Marauders' Map and his photo album then he tucked his treasured items between several layers of Weasley jumpers. Much to Harry's chagrin, he hadn't grown much since starting Hogwarts, and as a result of this lack of development, Harry stood at a meagre five foot and two inches, still allowing him to fit into his first Weasley jumper and keep the majority of his robes. Shaking his head slightly, Harry couldn't help but feel proud of himself because he'd managed to spend two nights in a row without needing to see either Cedric or Sirius' smiling faces in order to fall asleep.

'_This means I'm coping right?'_ Harry asked himself. _'I'm not forgetting, I just need to move on and be strong for the others, especially Remus.' _ In their correspondences, Harry hadn't failed to note that Remus also hadn't mentioned Sirius' name which made Harry think that Remus was also finding it hard to cope with their common loss.

And with that thought, Harry plucked his wand from beneath the loose floorboard and tucked it in the holder under the sleeve of what he liked to refer to as a 'Vintage Dudley Special' just as Uncle Vernon ordered him downstairs to make breakfast.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Harry yelled, replacing the floorboard.

"You'd better be, boy." Vernon belted back. He'd interrupted Petunia from whatever she had been about to say, which was evident from the angry "Vernon!" which could be heard coming from the patio. Harry quickly locked his trunk and placed Hedwig's cage and his Firebolt (which he kept under his bed) on top of it. The teenager then hurried down the stairs, knowing not to test Vernon Dursley's incredibly thin patience.

"Good morning Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia." Harry droned automatically at the sight of his relatives. Vernon was sitting at the dining table, reading the morning paper with a rather disgruntled expression whilst Petunia was on the patio organising some plant cuttings, which Harry had helped her take the day before, into boxes.

A sharp glare from Vernon preceded an annoyed, "Don't give me any lip, boy!"

'_I see someone's still a bit sensitive.'_ The young wizard observed. "Sorry Uncle Vernon." He apologised at the same time.

"I'm sure you are." Vernon grumbled scathingly. "Dudley should be getting up soon so get started already." Vernon ordered, nodding towards the cooker.

"Yes sir." Harry moved to the kitchenette and went to take a frying pan out of one of the cupboards. 'He's worse than bloody Snape, he is.' Just as he was about to turn on the gas, Harry's aunt came in from the garden and surveyed the kitchen quickly. Petunia's eyes landed on Harry in the kitchen, then Vernon at the table. She was soon shrieking at her soon-to-be ex-husband.

"Vernon Dursley! How dare you think that you can still treat _my_ nephew like a flipping slave after all he's been through!" Petunia screeched.

"But, Pet…" The man began, his blood draining from his face. If Vernon Dursley was good at one thing (apart from eating that is) then it was the simple understanding of knowing when he was in trouble and when he'd blown all of his chances.

"Don't you 'Pet' me! Vernon Dursley, you bastard! If you can shag that dumb bimbo receptionist of yours, then you can bloody well cook for yourself you pigheaded man!"

'He's done for.' Harry thought, slightly amused. 'I guess Trelawney was right with all that karma stuff.'

Dudley, who seemed to have actually lost weight, came in with a confused expression. He was so wrapped up in his next boxing match and the local girls that he'd failed to notice the feud between his parents.

"I'd get out of here if I were you." Harry advised.

Dudley turned and glared at him, "What do you know you little freak." He grunted rhetorically. Harry just shook his head and quickly left the room. He decided to sit at the top of the stairs and listen in on the argument.

Apparently, Vernon had come out of his stupor and had begun shouting at his wife. "Now listen here, woman! I've had to put up with that _thing_ for sixteen bloody years! He's been nothing but a nuisance. He should have had that _filth_ beaten out of him when he was young, like I said all those years ago! But no! You just had to protect the spawn of your whore of a sister!"

Two things happened at that moment; the first was a result of a quick magical surge as every light bulb in the hallway exploded and the shattered glass eroded into sand as it hit the carpet and the area around Harry. The second was the resounding thwack as flesh hit flesh. Aunt Petunia had slapped Uncle Vernon and both were shaking with rage.

"How _dare_ you!" Petunia seethed. "How _dare_ you talk about my sister and nephew in that way! I'm leaving Vernon, and I never want to see your face again." She hissed.

Harry bolted down the stairs, knowing his uncle's temper, the man would react badly and he wanted to make sure that his aunt would be safe. He was right. Just as Harry entered the doorway Vernon reared back slightly, roaring with anger.

"I'll teach you, you bloody bitch!"

Harry stood frozen and wide eyed as his aunt crashed against the dining table, the cheap, fake wood easily collapsing under the force of her weight. "Aunt Petunia!" He shouted, wand falling into his hand, whilst Dudley jeered at his mother. Harry's heart skipped a beat when she did not stir.

"Hit her again, dad!" The pig of a bastard laughed sadistically. Harry knew his cousin was spoilt and sometimes cruel, but he was honestly shocked by Dudley's response to his mum getting beaten. Didn't he care at all? Didn't he know how much Petunia had sacrificed for him? Harry snarled as the large man proceeded to accommodate his son's wants and needs as always by lifting his arm again to hit his unmoving wife. Harry raised his wand. _'Stupefy'_ on the tip of his tongue. However, he did not have a chance to once again break a law he was very familiar with as at that exact moment, just as Harry was opening his mouth, Vernon's body jerked backwards and the man fell to the floor, unconscious.

"You little freak! I'll fucking kill you!" Dudley howled, easily assuming that his father was lying comatose on the floor was because of his little cousin. He never got to make his words a reality for he too fell to the floor like his father as soon as the threat had left his lips. Harry stared at the spot where Dudley had previously been pulling a large, meaty fist back to punch him. The stunned teenager turned slowly to the patio door where three men stood by his and Aunt Petunia's cuttings from the garden, wands raised with anger and worry marring their features.

"Harry?" The tallest on the left asked, hesitantly.

One of the other wizards knelt by Petunia's side and began running diagnostic spells. "She's fine, just unconscious." The usually snarky voice breathed in relief.

Harry found himself enfolded in the third man's arms. He breathed in the familiar and comforting scent. "Oh God, Harry. Thank God we got here when we did." The man moaned into his hair. "Oh Cub, my little cub."

The arms tightened around him and Harry found himself sobbing into Remus' arms, shaking with fear and shock.

)(0)(

At that point in time, in the ruined kitchen come dining room of Number Four, Privet Drive, several decisions were made, decisions that were set in stone. Little did anyone in the perfect house that housed a not-so-perfect family know, because of the affair of one Vernon Dursley and the indirect abuse by one Albus Dumbledore, several fates changed that time, diverging into the unknown, to the point of no return.

Thousands of miles away, in the sleepy town of Forks, Washington, where another not-so-perfect family resided in an oh-so-perfect house, one of the occupants smiled and giggled into her hand, blocking her thoughts from her brother. Even though her vision was vague, the girl knew one thing.

'_Thing's are going to get interesting around here!'_

_

* * *

_ Yay! First chapter posted. I wrote this before the prologue thus the quick update. Once again, a major thanks to my lovely betas. The next chapter should be up in a month's time (that's how long it takes me to write 'em)

Thanks to all the people who reviewed, added White Flag and myself to favourites, alerts and C2s. I was overwhelmed by the success of my titchy first post. Just reading the number of hits amazed me.


	3. Feeling Lost and Low

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction and no profit is made from it.  
AN: Here's chapter 2 for your reading pleasure. My thanks to you all for being so patient, it is impossible for me to be as quick as most of the other authors on this site. Thanks to **Kirallie **and **The Group of One** for betaing once again!

* * *

**Feeling Low and Lost**

_If you're feeling low and lost today,_

_You're probably doing too much again._

_Do You Have a Little Time – Dido_

________

Harry still could not find the words to talk as Remus bundled him into the back of his Peugeot which had obviously seen better days. The werewolf then stepped aside as a revived Petunia Dursley slid in next to her nephew. A massive bruise was beginning to develop on one side of her face and there was a small trickle of blood coming from a small cut on her temple which had been caused by the impact with the table. Petunia's hand easily slipped into Harry's. They looked at each other and knew that the relationship between them had only strengthened under the recent bout of domestic violence.

"Will you both be okay here?" Remus asked from the pavement. "I need to go inside and call the police. It'll make sure that Vernon and Dudley won't be able to hurt either of you. Is that alright with you, Mrs Dursley?"

"Petunia." The woman corrected with a sniff. "Go on, I need to have a talk with Harry that's long overdue."

"I'll just be in the house, Cub." Remus reassured Harry who responded with a nod. Petunia and Harry watched as he hurried back into the house.

Harry was the first to break the silence. "I knew he'd get angry…he always gets angry. I just never thought that Uncle Vernon would actually hit you." He admitted quietly.

"Don't call him you uncle anymore. He always was a brute." Petunia sighed sadly. "I had always been jealous of Lily. For me, it was so unfair that she'd gotten magic and I hadn't. I was rubbish at school, except for art, mind you. I'd finished school with decent grades and gone to university. Then when I left, your grandparents died and I was in so much debt."

"So, you married Vernon." It wasn't a question.

"It was easy for him to think I was in love with him. Then I became pregnant. It wasn't planned of course." Petunia pulled a face in memory. "I refused to have an abortion, so we got married. Then it went to hell."

"When did you tell him about the magic?" Harry asked curiously. Petunia smirked in a way that was worthy of a Malfoy.

"I didn't. I had him take me to your parent's wedding. I think I was hoping that he'd have a heart attack."

'_It certainly would have made the world a better place.' _Harry thought. "Aunt Petunia, after all these years, why now? Why have you been horrible to me until now?"

"Vernon's a very…dominant man. If he wants something, you do it. He wanted me to be a stay at home wife, so I never got a job even though I had my teaching degree. He paid my student debts and in turn I stayed his wife after Dudley was born. I had no money and there was no way I could be a single mother, let alone afford a divorce, I hated myself for being so dependant on him. He took my dislike of magic to a whole new level, and when you appeared on our doorstep, I did what I could to make sure that you at least had a roof over your head and food to eat. Then this year, while you were at school, I lucked out. I'd finally managed to get proof of Vernon sleeping with another woman, his secretary, and one of the local arts colleges needed a new teacher and decided to hire me despite my lack of experience." Petunia explained, staring at her lap the whole time.

"So you'll be able to support yourself and push the costs of getting a quick divorce onto Vernon?" Harry summed up.

"Yes, and I can finally be the aunt that you always needed me to be." Petunia said with determination in her voice before she clutched Harry's hand tighter. "Harry, you can't believe how sorry I am."

"It's in the past now, it doesn't matter anymore."

That being said, Harry and Petunia turned their heads to the house, wondering what was happening inside.

)(0)(

Remus returned to the house and immediately went into the kitchen-dining area where Severus Snape was monitoring Vernon and Dudley with open disgust.

"I guess he isn't like his father at all then." Severus grumbled, acknowledging the other's presence.

"We need to phone the muggle aurors and gather some things for Harry and his aunt." Remus said, picking up the phone and dialling 999.

"Mr Weasley is gathering Potter's possessions as we speak, I will pack some clothes for the woman." Severus swept out of the room, sneering at the unconscious bodies as he passed them. Bill Weasley nodded to him as he came down the stairs bearing an empty owl cage and a broomstick in his hands. The potions professor couldn't help but grimace as he spotted the countless photographs in the hallway which showed the muggle boy who resembled an overweight pig. When Severus entered the master bedroom, he was surprised to find that Petunia (for he wasn't sure whether he could call her Mrs Dursley at the moment) had already packed the majority of her belongings in several suitcases which were hidden in the back of her wardrobe, and perched on top of them was a box wrapped neatly in blue wrapping paper. The tag revealed that it was for Harry. He shrunk the suitcases down and carried all of them in his hands with the gift tucked under his arm. Once he was by the car, Severus enlarged the suitcases, using several glamours to shield the act from any muggle eyes. He passed the gift to Petunia with a silent nod and watched as Potter opened it.

"It's a mobile phone." The boy announced softly. "I don't understand."

"Happy early birthday, I suppose. It will never make up for sixteen years of neglect, but please promise me you'll stay in contact. I don't care whether it's with that owl or with this, just as long as I know you're safe, you're all I have left." Petunia murmured, she held Potter close to her, and from the expression on the boy's face, it was probably the first time he had been embraced by his aunt. His eyes were squeezed closed, with traces of tears lingering at the edges.

'_Yes,' _Severus decided at that moment. _'I have most definitely been wrong about the boy.'_

)(0)(

The police arrived and had taken away Vernon and Dudley as soon as they saw that damage inflicted to Petunia. Then, Remus had driven Petunia to her new flat where she would settle in before going to the police station to make her statement against Vernon and maybe take a trip to the hospital for a check-up. Harry agreed to stay in contact with his aunt, and was extremely grateful when he'd been informed that he'd always be welcome to stay.

In the car, Remus drove whilst Severus sat in the passenger seat. Bill sat next to Harry in the back and the youngest wizard couldn't decide whether the silence which had settled over the vehicle was awkward or not.

Harry could have hit himself when he blurted out the first question he thought of. "Remus, why do you have a car? You're a wizard." Bill laughed loudly and ruffled Harry's already messy hair whilst Severus groaned into his hand.

"I never cease to be amazed by your complete lack of sense, Potter."

Remus cast Harry an amused look through the rear-view mirror. "Well, when one's a werewolf, it's generally easier to integrate ourselves into muggle society. Before I started teaching Defence at Hogwarts, I worked as a nurse in a hospital and also tutored part-time to make ends meet. I needed a car to get around, seeing as I could not apparate everywhere."

"What about the full moon?" Bill asked, apparently interested.

"I just said that I had to take a regular leave on the days surrounding it for 'religious reasons'. Nobody really asks after that, they just thought I was into that New Age stuff."

"How _smart_ of you, Wolf."

'_Only Snape can make a compliment sound like an insult.'_ Harry thought with some disdain. However, he was confused at how agreeable his professor was being.

Remus once again caught Harry's eye in the mirror. "Harry," he said in a stern voice, "we _will_ be talking about what happened back there, okay? Who knows what would have happened if we hadn't gotten you out of there. You could have been _killed._" The stern tone in the former professor's voice quickly became worried. Something which could only make guilt gnaw in Harry's gut.

"Remus, that was a one time thing." Bill interjected, "At least, judging by Petunia and Harry's reactions. There was no way that anyone could have predicted it."

The werewolf's worries were not placated by the eldest Weasley child's words. If anything, his tightened grip on the steering wheel showed that he was even more anxious about the situation.

"Bill's right. Vernon's never hit me or Aunt Petunia before. He was angry because they're getting divorced. He had an affair and Aunt Petunia wanted to leave him for a long time." Harry confirmed. "He's always been an angry person…this is the angriest I've ever seen him."

"Potter, that doesn't excuse that oaf's actions." Snape spat.

"I'm not saying that it does!" Harry retorted loudly. "And besides, what the Hell are you and Bill doing here? I thought this was meant to be kept from The Order!"

Bill opened his mouth to try and calm his brother's best friend whilst Severus made to berate him. However, Remus cut them both off. "There's no need to be rude, Harry." He said in his 'teacher's voice'. "I offered to bring Bill along, seeing as we shall be living together soon, and Severus was going to tell Dumbledore." He ignored the withering glare that Snape sent his way.

Harry was content with this answer. "Oh, okay. Sorry for snapping Bill." He apologised sheepishly, Severus huffed from the front seat when he was left out.

Bill smiled back. "No probl-" He was startled when Harry suddenly shot up in his seat, a shocked expression on his face.

"W-wait a second. Living together? I thought Grimmauld Place was full with Shacklebolt and Tonks?" He exclaimed.

Remus sighed heavily. "We're both going to be living together, away from Grimmauld Place…" He trailed off, unsure of how to break the news to his cub. Several weeks of procrastination had been ruined by his own slip of tongue.

"Where are you moving to?" Harry urged, worried. _'No this can't be happening!'_ He thought in despair. _'Remus can't be leaving me too!'_

Bill chose to speak for the werewolf, realising how hard it must be for him. "Harry, Gringott's recently gave me a promotion, which would mean that I'd have to leave Britain. Remus can't stay here either. He's still hurting from Sirius. Also, it's becoming increasingly hard for werewolves to get jobs in the wizarding world and even harder to escape prejudice, especially now that You-Know-Who's back. Dumbledore's own methods are also questionable. You know that." His voice was level as he tried to explain the situation in the best way possible. "Do you understand why this is necessary?"

"Yes, I do." Harry said, staring at his lap. "Where are you both moving to?" _'I guess…I guess I'm just being selfish. I probably deserve all of this.'_

"To America. Bill's job is in the wizarding community in Washington State, so we're going to settle down in a small town nearby." Remus' heart nearly broke when he saw the devastated look on his cub's face.

"I-I see."_ 'It's all my fault anyway.'_

"Harry, whatever you're thinking, stop it." Everyone in the car was startled by the strict tone in Bill's order. The red-headed male's face was clouded in something that was akin to anger, but not quite.

"Bill, stop it." Remus requested softly from the front when he saw how Harry's eyes had widened.

"No, I won't, Remus. This needs to be said." Bill's tone was hard and domineering, it demanded attention. "Harry, whatever it is that you're thinking, it needs to stop. It's bad, your face is an open book, so don't even thing about lying. First of all, you didn't even let us finish, and secondly, do you really think that Remus is so heartless to leave you alone at a time like this?"

"N-no." Harry replied in a whisper.

"Exactly, he wouldn't. Which is why for the last couple of weeks he's been trying to figure out ways to ask you to join us in America." Bill's frustration with Harry turned into confusion when the boy appeared to be even more upset by this news.

"What is it now, Potter?" Snape asked from the front, even though he already knew what the problem was. _'I wish that blasted prophecy never existed.'_

"I-It's not that I don't want to go with you guys to America, it's the one thing I want to do the most in the world. It's just that I can't…Voldemort…" Harry trailed off.

"Voldemort has nothing to do with this!" Remus exclaimed. "I have no idea what Dumbledore's been telling you recently, but you do _not_ have to defeat Voldemort. Yes, you defeated him the first time, but it's not like it's written in stone that you have to defeat him a second time."

The werewolf felt his heart crumble a little bit more when his ears were only met with silence. One look at his old classmate's face told him everything he needed to know, and as Bill leaned against his seatbelt to give Harry, whose eyes were welling with tears, an awkward hug, the only sound that could be heard in that one moment was the hissed "Fuck." which escaped the lips of a werewolf who had experienced more hardships than anyone ever should.

)(0)(

Neville Longbottom was bad at many things. This was proven many times during his time at Hogwarts, especially by one Severus Snape. However, even though he did not have many academic achievements outside of Herbology, he was still smart at other things. He could be described almost as the opposite to Hermione Granger. So of course, whilst Hermione was bad at dealing with emotions, Neville felt that he was quite empathetic. So when he had first arrived at Grimmauld Place after his grandmother had been taken ill, he chose to stay quiet after he had been told about The Order of the Phoenix by Auror Shacklebolt and Professor McGonagall upon sensing the sombre atmosphere which surrounded the rather macabre looking house. When he had first accidently woken up the portrait of Walburga Black (by knocking over a vase with wilted flowers), Neville had been more stunned by the volume at which the deceased woman spoke rather than what she actually said (for everyone knew that Draco Malfoy could say something much fowler in half the time).

Then, Mrs Weasley had arrived with Ron and Ginny in tow during the same afternoon, and Neville was pleased to know that he would be sharing a room with his class and dorm-mate as well as with Harry when he was due to arrive – whenever that was. On the first night at Grimmauld Place, Neville had opened his mouth, about to ask if Ron wanted him to turn off the light, when the hot-blooded Gryffindor decided to blurt out all of the secrets that the decrepit house held. In less than ten minutes, Neville knew everything, he knew about Sirius, about how he was an animagus and innocent of charges. He also knew how important the deceased man was to Harry, because after the man fell through the odd curtain at the Ministry, his friend and Professor Lupin's reactions resembled that of pure grief.

Still, when Ron smiled sheepishly and apologised, "Sorry mate, I just needed to get that off my chest, y'know?" Neville couldn't help but feel disappointed in his friend.

"I don't see why, I was at the Department of Mysteries too. I already guessed half of that already. And besides, none of that was for you to tell, it should have been Harry or even Professor Lupin telling me that."

"Err…right…d'ya mind turning off the light now? I'm knackered." Ron asked sheepishly, not sure how else he could have responded.

Neville silently did as he was asked; he couldn't say anything else about the matter. He would just hope that Ron had taken in his words and would learn his lesson.

The next day had been awkward to say the least. Ron had decided to stick to Ginny and carry out the chores which Mrs Weasley set whilst Neville decided to explore the small greenhouse outside and see if he could salvage anything from the mess of weeds and foliage. Whilst he went about weeding the miniature forest, the Gryffindor began to ponder about what it was that happened at breakfast. He smiled victoriously as he uncovered some Honking Daffodil bulbs and set them aside. Ron had been avoiding meeting his gaze, which made Neville think that the other boy still felt a bit guilty, and Ginny kept sending him these odd, tiny smiles. They scared the living daylights out of him. Sure, Neville had taken the girl to the ball, but that was ages go and she was Ron's baby sister! The whole notion was just plain wrong.

Neville had sat down at the table and watched as Ron's mum cooked up a storm. He'd offered to set the table but the woman glared at him and declared that he was a guest. Then Remus Lupin had entered the kitchen, looking slightly disorientated upon spotting Neville nursing a large mug of tea. To his credit, the former professor had recovered from his confusion quite quickly as soon as he received a mug of hot chocolate.

"I'm sorry," The man had apologised when Neville told him about his grandmother.

"It's alright. Gran's been ill for a bit now, so I should have expected it a lot earlier." Neville confessed, earning a sympathetic look from Mrs Weasley who ushered her children out of the room. "They that she's going to be in hospital for the next couple of months, but I'm scared that she won't recover. When I went to St. Mungo's to visit Gran, she looked so frail – it made it all real."

"Everybody has there own time, there's nothing you can do about it." Remus sighed sadly. Neville was slightly grateful for the man's words, he hadn't tried to sugar-coat the situation like the healers at the hospital had.

"Professor Lupin, about that man – Sirius Black…" Neville began hesitantly.

"I must admit that I'm being incredibly hypocritical when it comes to Sirius. I'm afraid that I won't be able to ever believe that my friend is dead until I know exactly what that Veil does. For some reason I can't let go and I know I won't find the answers here. And please, call me Remus; I'm not exactly your professor now, am I?" Remus said with a small reassuring smile having easily guessed that Neville was about to ask how he was coping.

"Okay, Prof-Mr…Err Remus." Neville stammered, causing the werewolf to laugh warmly.

"I guess it is a bit strange to be talking to your teacher in a familiar manner." He chuckled before looking up at the clock. "Well Mr Longbottom, I must be off. Bill Weasley will be arriving at any minute and I suppose I should really greet him." He took both of the now empty mugs and set them in the sink where a sponge immediately went to scrubbing at them.

"Alright, Professor. Umm, I saw that you had a greenhouse in the back garden, would it be alright if I took a look at it?" The younger Gryffindor asked as they both entered the hallway.

The russet-haired man thought carefully for a moment. "That should be fine, I guess. But nobody's been there for a while so I imagine that it's all a big mess. Be careful and make sure you take the proper equipment. Don't forget that a very dark family used to live here so there will more than likely be some very dangerous plants. Oh, and don't worry if you see Kreacher lurking about. He's harmless…but if he does trouble you, get Tonks to help you out, okay? She's off today"

"Sure. See you later Professor!" Neville said before he shot up the stairs in order to get his tools. He barely missed Remus calling out, "I told you, it's Remus!"

When he'd gotten his gear (protective gloves, goggles and earmuffs alongside a trowel, a sturdy pair of secateurs and some spare pots), Neville ran into Auror Shacklebolt ("Call me Kingsley.") in the hallway and escorted the man downstairs. He answered all the questions the other man asked him about school with a polite smile. Downstairs, Remus had just left the drawing room with Bill Weasley in tow. The red-headed man looked exactly as how Harry had described him a few years ago.

Neville noted how Remus stiffened when he and Kingsley approached the bottom of the stairs, and wondered why. "Remus, Bill." Kingsley greeted with a nod of his head. "Molly, Ron and your sister are cleaning the rooms upstairs if you want them."

Bill opened his mouth to reply but Remus beat him to it. "Actually Kingsley, we were just on our way out." He said hastily. Bill nodded in agreement, confused, like Neville, about the Marauder's complete change in attitude.

"Remus, about last night, I said I was so-" Kingsley began.

"Leave it Kingsley." Remus practically ordered. "If we have to talk about what happened, then we can do it later." He gave Kingsley a meaningful look before dragging a frowning Bill towards the door. Kingsley just shook his head and went into the drawing room, probably to use the Floo.

"Are you okay, Remus?" Bill asked as he handed the aforementioned man a light brown coat.

"I'll explain in the car." He replied just before Professor Snape barged in through the front door, causing Neville's heart to do a tiny tap dance of fear.

"Where are you off to, Wolf?" The Potions Master sneered.

"We're going to get Harry." Bill said for the other man who was fiddling with his buttons. Neville's heart began to settle slightly with this news, his excitement about seeing his friend rising against his fear of Snape.

Snape frowned at this. "The Headmaster said that-"

"Oh, I can't be bothered with what Dumbledore has to say, Severus!" Remus snapped before brushing past him and through the open door. Bill followed, shaking his head and pausing quickly to give Neville an encouraging grin. Neville was about to go into cardiac arrest when he realised that he'd more than likely have to deal with his dreaded teacher alone. However, that was not the case as the man took one glance at Neville before swearing and following Remus out the door.

Neville could breathe easy until the door closed with a massive slam, awakening the portrait of Mrs Black.

"FILTHY BLOOD TRAITORS!"

Neville dropped his tools with a squeak and immediately went to wrestle with the heavy drapes surrounding the painting.

)(0)(

As soon as they had arrived at Grimmauld Place, Harry immediately went to the room that he'd be sharing with Ron and Neville. He put his things away and put his share of Aunt Petunia's cuttings by the window. _'Maybe Neville can help me with these.'_ Not feeling up to seeing Ginny and Ron, despite being the latter's best friend, Harry thought that he'd go see his other mate. Hopefully he wouldn't run into Remus or Snape, he couldn't stand seeing the grief on Remus' face and didn't want to hear what Snape would say after finding out what his home life was like. He was in luck as he only crossed paths with Professor Dumbledore in the hallway. The Headmaster was entering the kitchen where Harry guessed an Order meeting was about to take place.

"Ah, Harry, my boy!" The oddly dressed man greeted. "How are you? All good I hope?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I shall be gone in a minute – important things to discuss. I do believe Miss Granger will be arriving shortly, I shall make sure she is sent your way. Young Mr. Weasley is awfully busy with Molly and Miss Weasley." Here, Harry nodded mutely. "I was just wondering why it is that you are here now? I thought that we had agreed that you would be joining us next week. The blood wards…"

"My aunt and uncle just split up, and she just moved house. I was going to stay with her, but Uncle Vernon kicked me out of the house when she was out, so I rang Professor Lupin at a payphone."

"Ah, that is a shame. I trust that you will be staying with your aunt on your birthday?"

Harry nodded quickly, anxious to be out of the man's presence – he wasn't sure why, he just didn't feel comfortable where he was. "Excuse me Professor, I think I'm going to go find Neville now."

"I do believe he's in the greenhouse, my boy." Dumbledore informed him with a smile.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry muttered before he hurried to his destination.

'_What the hell is wrong with me?' _ He thought bitterly. Wrestling open the door, Harry smile benevolently at Neville who was covered in dirt. "Hullo Neville," He smiled. "Want some help?" He laughed softly when the dirt-ridden boy jumped, startled by Harry's sudden presence.

"Oh! H-hiya Harry! You okay?" Neville asked, worried.

Harry sank to his knees next to him and silently began pulling at some shrieking weeds. Both boys settled down to work, Neville listening intently when Harry began to tell him about what had passed at his home in Surrey, omitting the parts about the prophecy. Hermione Granger soon joined them, bearing lunch and other snacks to tide the three of them until the evening, and quickly began regaling them with tales of her holiday so far and her brief encounter with Ron who had somehow been able to ruffle her feathers when they had crossed outside the kitchen. Harry grinned at this and handed his friend a rusty trowel, "C'mon Miss Smarty-pants!" He laughed at her outraged expression, _'It's priceless when she can't think of a comeback!'_

Hermione snatched the trowel with a huff. "You're doing it all wrong! You need to be more gentle!"

Harry looked at Neville who just shrugged. "She's right." Hermione looked like the cat that got the cream.

The three of them had unintentionally worked well into the evening, and because the greenhouse was quite small they had been able to get rid of most of the weeds and save any plants worth saving. Ron had joined them at some point, but he was content to watch the other three work and make conversation (as well as complain about the boys that Ginny had been seeing lately).Harry was grateful when Neville didn't mention anything that he had told him and Hermione and Ron hadn't asked questions about his summer. He had a funny feeling that Ron would lose his temper and Hermione would blow it out of proportion. Like many important events in his life, Harry decided that it was best to just let go. It was over and there was nothing that neither he nor anyone could do about it.

"Right then," Neville announced, rising up from his kneeling position and wiping his forehead with his sleeve. "I reckon that's enough for today. Anyone else fancy some dinner?"

"Too right mate!" Ron grinned. "All that hard work's given me a massive appetite."

Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other as they both got up and tried to get rid of the dirt that was caked on them.

"I'm gonna go ahead and grab a quick shower." Ron said before he vanished from the greenhouse, leaving behind Hermione's "Typical!"

The three remaining Gryffindors trudged back into the house. "The meeting must have finished by now." Harry mumbled as they crept in the hallway.

"I don't think so; I can still hear some voices from the kitchen." Neville muttered. Hermione frowned at this and motioned for the boys to follow her towards a hidden alcove.

"It's too muffled!" She complained.

Harry hissed something under his breath, to quick for the others to hear. "Triwizard Tournament." He muttered, not meeting their inquisitive gazes. Hermione smiled in sympathy, but soon her attention was diverted by the rising volume of voices coming from the kitchen. It was McGonagall and Dumbledore.

"How dare you!" The Transfiguration teacher shouted, her students were surprised by the fury in her voice. "You evil, manipulative man!"

"Minerva, please see reason!" The headmaster seemed to beg.

"You must be joking! Do you know how many people died because of your pure selfishness and need for power? Lily and James died because of you! Some of my best students!" She began to sob.

"There was no other way!"

"No other way to do what Albus?!?" Minerva shouted. "Please. Tell me why you needed to make up a prophecy about Harry and Voldemort! Tell me why half of Wizarding Britain was murdered because of you! Tell me why you have made us live through two wars!" She demanded, her voice rising with her anger.

Silence followed.

"You are an evil bastard…why have we all been so blind?" Minerva sighed in resignation. "You wait until everyone else finds out about this."

"I'm sorry, Minnie…._Obliviate._" There was a thump as a body hit the floor and a brief sound of scuffling and a chair being moved.

Harry, Hermione and Neville were invisible to the Headmaster from their position as he waltzed out of Grimmauld Place not a care in the world. Hermione breathed deeply. "Harry, are you okay?" She asked hesitantly. Her greatest friend was still, almost as if he was petrified, the only signs that he wasn't were his harsh breathing and the stream of fierce tears flowing from his eyes.

"That prophecy he was talking about was the one from the Department of Mysteries, wasn't it?" Neville asked.

"'_Neither can live while the other survives.'_" Harry hissed bitterly. An odd strangled noise escaped his mouth as he fought down wracking sobs. Hermione's eyes widened in realisation, _'If that prophecy was fake, then all those people died for nothing…that includes Sirius and Cedric!'_

Neville held Harry's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way, however, both he and Hermione were startled when Harry tore away from them and ran upstairs. They both followed, instantly forgetting about Minerva McGonagall who was waking up at the kitchen table incredibly confused. Her eyes narrowed as she easily recognised the symptoms she was experiencing.

)(0)(

Remus sighed into his firewhiskey, glad that the order meeting was over. _'I wonder what Minerva wanted to talk to Albus about…_' He once again found himself in the library mulling over the many texts that the Black family had left behind. He made a mental note to take most of them away with him for further perusal. Since the news of the prophecy had arisen, Remus remained unsure of how he should take the news, he felt numb whenever he thought about it. _'Maybe it's the shock.'_

Across from him sat Severus and Bill, they were both discussing way's of making a person untraceable. Remus decided to start paying attention to their conversation for he found himself often glancing at the bureau where the transfer papers resided.

"I've heard of this one spell…I think it's from a book by Alden." Bill began.

"Ah yes, Alden's Basic Defence. That book was a load of nonsense." Severus grumbled.

"They didn't work?" Remus questioned curiously.

"They did, but there are simpler ways to achieve the same effects. Unfortunately for him, Aldren's forte was Charms rather than Defence."

Bill snorted. "Didn't he get murdered by a grindylow?" He asked incredulously.

"My point exactly."

Remus was about to suggest Miller's spell that was mainly used by hunters who tracked beasts when the door slammed open with a huge bang.

"Potter! What in Merlin's name?" Severus exclaimed. As soon as he said this, Remus found his text knocked from his hands as a crying Harry clutched to his jumper with balled fists.

"Cub?! What on Earth happened?! Are you okay?" Remus asked, panicked at the state the boy was in.

Harry's body shuddered with the force of his sobs. "It…it was…a lie!" He choked out. "Th-they…all…d-died for….nothing!" Remus began to soothe him with hushing noises and by stroking his hair like he'd seen Lily do. The younger wizard began to calm down slightly, his moans becoming less frequent.

"Neville, Hermione! What is Harry talking about?" Bill demanded from the other students who were breathing hard after running up the stairs after their friend.

"We w-were coming out of the greenhouse, but we heard Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore talking in the kitchen." Neville began.

"And then Harry cast this spell on the kitchen to make what they were saying clearer!" Hermione continued.

Severus felt his patience wearing thin. "Get to the point you blasted Gryffindors!" He hissed with venom.

"Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were arguing!" Hermione said for Neville who was stunned by the malice in the Potions professor's voice.

Bill laid a placating on Severus' shoulder before the teacher could open his mouth again. "And?" He prompted. "Then what happened?"

"Professor McGonagall said that Professor Dumbledore made up a prophecy about Harry and Voldemort!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Then D-Dumbledore used _obliviate_ on McGonagall and left!" Neville finished.

The adults all remained in stunned silence, taking in the massive wave of information that had been thrust upon them so suddenly. Harry was still shaking within Remus' comforting embrace and Severus soon found his body numbly moving to the doorway. "I shall see to Minerva." He said stiffly. _'Lily…'_ The door clicked shut after his departure.

"Remus?" Bill asked, unsure of where he was needed.

"Pass me those forms on the table and a quill with ink." Remus requested with a tired smile. He passed Harry into the other man's freckled arms where Hermione was instantly by his side.

Neville looked at the papers in the ex-teacher's hands and frowned slightly. "Pr-Remus, do you have another copy of those forms?" Neville asked softly, his mind already made up. At Remus' questioning gaze, Neville quickly added. "I-I promise I'll help anyway I can! I want to be there for Harry in any way possible!"

Remus nodded, satisfied with his answer. "In the drawer, we'll be able to get rid of The Trace in America, but we'll still be living our lives as muggles for the most part."

"I'll stay here and keep track of things for you guys." Hermione said. "You are still taking NEWTs aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes, both Harry and Neville will be homeschooled in Magic, then they can choose to come here or stay in America to take their exams." Remus said, realising that he hadn't fully explained what would be happening.

"Sounds good, eh Harry?" Bill asked the boy in his arms. He was relieved when the black haired wizard had fully stopped crying.

"Mmm." Harry mumbled sleepily into the red-head's chest. "America sounds wonderful."

Remus picked up the quill and put it to the paper. "Excellent! We'll leave after both your birthdays."

It sounded like a very good plan indeed.

* * *

AN: Thanks to all of you guys once again for your amazing response, it seriously helped me out in writing this. Just a note about reviews, I like to repond to all of them privately through email/the system so please sign in / leave your email address if you want a response.

Not sure when the next chapter will be up, I haven't started it yet, but just a heads up, I more than likely will not be updating in May or June as I will be graduating and be taking my final exams.

Thanks for reading, any feedback is greatly appreciated and feel free to check my livejournal (Bittersweet_mis) for any updates/news


	4. So Here We Go

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction

AN: Okay, this is a bit later that usual, mainly because I've been doing my final project for my ICT A-Level. Any one who's done the qualification will tell you how time consuming and stressing it can be...and when you add in the fact that both of the teachers keep telling us to do different things...

This chapter is mainly to establish the 'gang' (I don't consider them close enough to eachother to be a family and I'm not sure what I can really call them) setting themselves up in America. There _is_ an OC introduced, but he probably won't crop up again until fairly later on...he has his purpose, trust me on this.

Also, to everyone who asked, I give you The Cullens...although not in the way you were expecting ...probably.

* * *

**So Here We Go**

_So here we go with the letter,_

_Can you fix it for me?_

_The Angry Mob - Kaiser Chiefs_

_______

_Harry was just leaving his Transfiguration lesson with a morose expression. Professor McGonagall had kept him behind to talk about his position on the Quidditch team which had been put in jeopardy since his Nimbus 2000 had been obliterated by the Whomping Willow. Hermione and Ron had, of course, gone ahead to the Great Hall, too caught up in their argument about Crookshanks and Scabbers to remember to wait for him. Harry was just rounding a corner that would lead him to Gryffindor Tower when he literally collided into another person. The force of the impact made him fall flat on his bum with his hands spread out to try and cushion his landing. The loud smack that echoed in the corridor reminded Harry how painful falling onto stone could be. Harry flexed his stinging palms with a hiss, hoping that his palms wouldn't bruise as he looked at the reddening flesh. Then, Harry remembered the fact that he had walked into someone else and looked up to meet the worried grey eyes of Cedric Diggory, Sixth Year Hufflepuff Seeker and owner of the newer title of 'Pest Extraordinaire'._

_Harry mentally groaned._

_The older boy was picking himself up off the floor whilst keeping his concerned gaze on Harry. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Cedric asked, sticking out a hand. Harry took it without a second thought._

"_Yeah." He replied, allowing the other boy to pull him to his feet. "It was my fault anyway." Harry admitted, dropping Cedric's hand as he began dusting himself off._

_Cedric stepped back a bit with a look of disappointment clear on his face._

'_That's odd.' Harry thought._

"_I probably deserve worse for what I did." Cedric mumbled guiltily._

"_Eh?" 'Who did he kill...? Oh no, He can't still be on about that bloody-'_

"_The Quidditch match." Cedric said with a wince. _

'_He is…bloody hell.' "Oh, that. What has Oliver gone and done now?" Harry asked, knowing the Scottish teen's obsession with the wizarding sport. It was worse than Dean Thomas and football. His Quidditch captain was still making snide remarks to Diggory and had only just been stopped from sending a few Weasley pranks by Harry._

"_Wood? He's been alright lately. Did you say something?" Cedric asked. "All he does is glare at me now." He chuckled._

"_If looks could kill, eh?" Harry laughed. "You should see him when we're late to practice."_

"_Yeah," Cedric agreed. "I've met some people who were really into Quidditch, but Wood takes it to a whole new level! Anyway, I just wanted to apologise for what happened, so … err…sorry." He finished awkwardly._

_Here, Harry actually groaned._

"_Are you okay? Are you ill? Do I need to take you to see Madame Pomphrey?" Cedric asked hurriedly._

'_Wow, he really is a Hufflepuff.' "Stop apologising already!" Harry exclaimed, startling the other teen who was about to press his hand to Harry's forehead. Harry swatted away the offending appendage. "I'm sick to death of you popping up at the most random times and saying 'I'm sorry' over and over! Geez! Anybody would think you were a stalker."_

_Cedric looked alarmed by his accusation. "W-wait! I'm not a stalker!" He said quickly. "I'm sorry if I made it seem that way."_

"_Honestly, you're like a broken record!" Harry grouched._

_Cedric didn't really know what to say to that. For a starter, he didn't really know what a 'record' was, but from the Gryffindor's tone, he assumed it was a bad thing. He guessed that Harry was mad at him, which really was the reverse of what he wanted, so what could he do to make Harry like him? Then it hit him._

"_Fine," He conceded. "I'll leave you alone. But on one condition."_

"_What?" Harry questioned suspiciously._

"_You let me take you into Hogsmeade for a day." Cedric proposed. "Consider it my final apology."_

_Harry shook his head sadly. "I can't Cedric; I didn't get the permission slip signed."_

"_So, why did I see you there last time with your two friends? I wonder what the punishment for leaving the grounds without permission is." The Hufflepuff smirked._

"_You-you're going to blackmail me just so that you can take me to Hogsmeade as an apology?" Harry asked incredulously. 'What's the logic in that?'_

"_That's the plan!" Cedric beamed. "So, is that a yes?"_

"_Fine." Harry scowled. 'I guess it'll be nice to spend time with people other than Ron and 'Mione.'_

"_Brilliant!" The other teen chirped. "I'll owl you with the details!"_

_Harry's lips reluctantly twisted into a small smile._

)(0)(

Harry woke up disoriented with no idea where he was. He instantly felt a pang when he realised that he had indeed been dreaming. _'Why am I thinking of these things now?'_

Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes, squinting at the beige walls trying to figure out what had happened. The last thing he remembered was leaving Aunt Petunia's flat via the floo.

Aunt Petunia and Remus had held a small joint party for him and Neville with all of the Weasleys and some members of The Order. The day before, Harry had broken it to Ron and Hermione that he and Neville would be leaving at the end of the party with their new guardians, Hermione had been expecting, but Ron was speechless to say the least. He had recovered though, and had made sure that Harry knew he would sorely be missed. When told about the fake prophecy, Ron had promised that he would tell no-one, not even his mother who had no idea about her surrogate son's latest venture. Petunia had been happy to sign the forms giving Remus and Bill guardianship over Harry although she made it clear that there would be hell to pay if something happened to either of the teenagers and she wasn't made aware. A very much deteriorated Augusta Longbottom had also readily signed the same papers for Neville from her hospital bed, glad that her grandson was living his life; she weakly claimed that it was for the best. Everyone in the room at that time understood what she was insinuating. Harry, Bill and Remus left the room to give Neville and his grandma some time alone. About an hour afterwards, Neville was being escorted out of the room by a Mediwizard. He was crying and Augusta Longbottom was dead, having lived to make sure her grandson was in good hands.

Both Harry and Neville received many presents for their birthdays, mostly sweets and books on useful spells. However, the most valuable came from Hermione and the Longbottom family lawyer who had gone out of his way to settle Mrs Longbottom's affairs in a matter of days when it normally would have taken a month or more. Hermione had given both the boys copies of all of her notes which covered the Hogwarts syllabus from the first year through to seventh as well as notes which covered the general muggle syllabus up to A-levels. Hermione had been disappointed when she realised that some of it wouldn't be useful in America, but Harry and Neville had assured her that she'd done way more than enough.

Harry took in his surroundings. He had been lying on a couch with a coat spread over him that was probably likely Remus'. The sofa itself looked quite posh and was lined with leather. Harry guessed that he was in an office, probably belonging to someone quite important judging from the expensive looking furnishings and the numerous shelves lined with countless books. Harry rose to his feet, still clutching Remus' coat to his chest, and made his way over to the books opposite. The office definitely belonged to a person who knew about both magic and muggle devices, the teen noted from the computer on the desk and the book on potion ingredients he was currently examining the spine of. He was about to pluck out a title on muggle legends when the door opened to reveal Remus, Bill, Neville and a fairly tall man that Harry didn't recognise. Remus was carrying a plastic bag with all their shrunken belongings whilst Bill had Hedwig and Neville the shrunken plants.

Remus' eyes lit up when he realised that Harry was awake and Neville slumped in relief. "Oh Harry! Thank Merlin you're awake!" Remus exclaimed as he rushed to Harry's side. "We were so worried!"

Harry imagined that he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Err…what happened exactly? Where are we?" He asked, confused when he realised that Remus was wearing his coat. _'Then who the hell does this belong to?'_

Bill grinned. "Ron said that you were bad at using the floo, but I had no idea that you would be so bad with the international network." He laughed. "We're in Seattle. The capital of Wizarding America

"Huh?"

"You fainted as soon as you arrived." Remus explained. He then pressed the back of his hand against the teen's forehead. "You don't feel woozy do you? Maybe you should sit down. You feel a bit warm, is the window open?"

"Eh? Remus! I'm fine!" Harry protested.

"Maybe you're overreacting, Prof-Remus." Neville suggested.

Remus opened his mouth to reply, however, he was cut off by the stranger in the room.

"I'm afraid that I must agree with Mr Longbottom on this matter." He said with a smooth voice (here, the aforementioned teen blushed). "International floo does sometimes have similar effects on travellers, Mr Lupin. Mr Potter, I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you." He smiled, holding out a hand. The man was probably in his thirties. He had an American accent though it wasn't all that strong, and he was quite handsome. His hair was pale blond, though more yellow compared to Malfoy's silver locks and his eyes were a coloured hazel. The man was unlike any other wizard (assuming from the books and his choice of words about Harry) he'd met, mainly because of the incredibly smart white on black pinstripe suit and leather gloves he was wearing.

Harry tentatively took the other man's hand in his and shook it. "It's nice to meet you to Mr…erm?"

"Sinclair. My name is Allan Sinclair." He said with a tone that Harry couldn't quite figure out. It wasn't smug, but it was something similar.

"Don't worry, Harry." Remus soothed. "He can be trusted; he made many arrangements for us once we showed him our circumstances."

Harry was confused until Neville tapped his head and mouthed 'pensieve' at him.

"Mr Sinclair is President of Magical America." Bill supplied helpfully. "Even though he's really young for a politician, he's already done a fair bit for the American magical community. The government here really leaves Britain's Ministry in the dust." Harry now knew what that tone was; it was the tone of someone who knew success.

"He was coming from a meeting in France when you fainted at his feet." Remus laughed.

Harry blushed heavily. "I'm so sorry, Mr Sinclair!" he winced. _'How embarrassing!'_

"Not a problem, and please, call me Allan. I imagine that we shall see quite a lot of each other."

"We will?" Remus asked.

"It seems so. Mr Potter plays an important role in British magical society so I have a feeling that they will not leave you alone."

"And Prof- Dumbledore won't be too pleased either, I bet." Neville pointed out. The mood in the room instantly darkened.

"Do you think he'll find us here?" Harry asked.

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Allan muttered darkly. "The British Ministry has stepped out of line far too many times, they are far too incompetent. Some of our best men died in the war that they managed so well." The last bit was said with remorse.

A silence descended in the room and Harry scuffed his trainers against each other nervously.

"Ah! We did all the paperwork while you were unconscious, Harry." Bill mentioned suddenly, trying to get rid of the air of discomfort surrounding them. "Even got rid of The Trace that was on you and Neville…as well as another…erm spell."

"What other spell?" Harry asked anxiously. He had a good idea who would've put a spell on him too.

"It was a tracking spell similar to The Trace. It's simply a more permanent and complex version that does not wear off naturally when you mature. The main problem is that instead of being directed at the Ministry, it was directed towards Hogwarts."

"Dumbledore." Remus growled. _'Bingo' _Harry thought somewhat bitterly.

"Indeed. That spell's a complete infringement on human rights, it should be made illegal. They used to use it on ex-convicts until some activists started protesting. You are the curse-breaker here Mr Weasley, do you think that Dumbledore knows Harry's location?"

Bill scratched at his chin in thought. "Hmm, well. I wouldn't have picked up on it if the Aurors hadn't gotten rid of The Trace, so we could have easily carried on with it all with the tracker on – which would have seriously screwed up all of our plans if Dumbledore is using Harry for his plans like we all think he is." Here, Remus wrapped his arms protectively around Harry who just accepted it and leaned against the werewolf's chest. "The spell notifies the caster of what spell the host – in our case, Harry – has cast, the host's location and magical and physical condition when the spell was cast. It also notifies the caster of any accidental magic.

"D-do you think that it would have detected the Aurors removing The Trace?" Neville asked.

Bill smiled, "Nah. There's a reason why we chose to come here using the floo rather than a portkey or a muggle plane. The Floo Network and apparition cause a slight magical field disturbance when people use them, portkeys do it too. The 'host' spells which are long-lasting get nullified for seven and a half hours-ish. I think the null time for apparition is about two hours and it's only five or ten minutes for portkeys. It's the reason why it's so hard to track criminals these days."

"They always check for tracking spells when they arrive wherever it is that they go, so it's pretty much useless." Allan said.

"Especially now that people have cottoned on." Bill agreed.

"So that means that Harry's safe now?" Remus questioned, his grip on Harry tightening.

"Yeah. To Dumbledore, it'll look like we've all just dropped off the face of the planet. He'll only get Harry and Neville's withdrawal papers. The Ministry clerk gave all of our transfer papers to the Unspeakables when they saw Harry sign his papers in person, so nobody will probably ever see them.

"Still, you'd all best lay low when you go to wizarding areas, especially White Avenue. Even if you aren't that famous here compared to in England, Harry, the reporters here will be on the lookout for you for quite sometime once they get wind that you've left Hogwarts. Glamours might do the trick." Allan advised

"I think Occlumency is our first priority." Remus mumbled into Harry's hair.

"Occlumency? Oh no..." Harry moaned, thinking of his lessons with Snape at school.

"Hmm, I think I may have some titles of interest that you may wish to take."

"Eh? But you've already done so much for us!" Remus protested.

Allan laughed. "It is my own decision. I wish to help you all as much as I can, also I must have at least three copies of each book I have in mind."

"W-why? What do you have to gain from all of this, sir?" Neville questioned softly.

"Nothing I guess." Allan admitted. He moved to the shelves and began ghosting his fingers along some of the spines. "Wizarding Britain is a mess. That's an understatement. Your country is constantly under turmoil. How many people have died because they were lions led by mules? I wonder… I just, I just want to be able to help in any way I can so that no more lives need to sacrificed to make your leaders look good. His voice was sad and bitter, and Harry instantly sympathised with the man. He had lost someone or some people close to him. That much was evident. As he spoke, Allan chose several titles from his shelves and cradled them loosely in his free arm. "One must also wonder what else is a farce in the world we live in. If someone like Dumbledore, who is revered so much by the public, is an actual tyrant in the situation at hand, then there is so much more to be uncovered." Allan said cryptically. He handed the books to Harry who took them absentmindedly.

"Voldemort." Bill spat. "I'd bet my last sickle that Dumbledore's got something to do with that monster."

"I think Dumbledore's the monster now." Remus sighed sadly.

"Great." Harry groaned. "More people after my life."

Remus straightened from his slightly slumped position against Harry and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to cut you short, Mr Sinclair, but I'm afraid that we must be leaving. I want to get settled into our new home as soon as possible."

"Of course. I'll have my men take you to the entrance to White Avenue so you can collect the car that has been provided for your personal use." Allan turned and led them out of the plush office with a wave of his hand.

"Car?!?" Remus squawked with wide eyes. "Y-you can't possibly-!"

"Oh, but I can." Allan smirked. "You have opened my eyes, all of you. Thanks to your trust in me, I have been given a new purpose. Call the car… a welcoming present if you must…The costs won't even be picked up."

"Some fruit basket." Bill snorted, causing Harry and Neville to laugh.

They came to a stop by a set of oak double doors. There was a pair of guards either side who wore suits and sunglasses. Harry likened them to the people in Dudley's spy films. "I'm sorry to say that this is where we part ways. The information that you have given me has been enlightening to say the least. My government will do whatever is possible to ease the suffering of those affected by this war that Albus Dumbledore has decided to set in motion."

"Thank you for everything you've done for us." Remus said graciously.

"It has been a pleasure. You must all promise to stay in contact." Allan smiled. "I would like to know if anything happens."

"Of course we will." Harry and the others said their good byes and Bill and Remus led the teens to the door. Before they could get there, they were stopped by Allan's laughter.

"God! How stupid of me to forget!" He chuckled. "Harry, my coat, please?"

Harry looked down at the overcoat he still held in his hands and flushed in mortification.

)(0)(

Harry hadn't thought that the weather couldn't get any worse than in England, but he was proved wrong by Bill and Remus. He and Neville watched the scenery go by through the windows as the adults chatted in the front. The car that Allan had gifted them with was quite nice. It was a deep blue Toyota that was meant to be quite low on fuel costs which would probably help them a lot. Harry couldn't help but laugh at Remus' frustrated expression when they'd first seen the rather flashy car. It annoyed the elder man because it would bring more attention to them than they needed, and, it didn't help that the population of Forks was tiny. When they got in, Neville had been very nervous, it was his first time using muggle transport (not counting the Hogwarts Express) but Remus and Bill had quickly gotten the teen to relax.

Hedwig hooted softly in her sleep, drawing Harry's attention to her. He smiled gently, _'She must be knackered after all the excitement.'_ Harry thought before he looked at Neville. "Are you going to get another pet Neville?" He asked cautiously. All of the Gryffindors had been a bit careful around the brunette when Trevor the toad was eaten by a first year's cat.

Neville's forehead creased slightly as he considered his options. "I was thinking of getting a long distance owl so we can mail overseas, but I guess we could use the floo for that. I'd like to get a rabbit or something that's easy to look after. Plus the fact that they're cute is an added bonus."

"We could get both." Bill suggested from the front. "If we do use owl mail quite a lot, Hedwig coming and going from the house so often will probably look quite odd. Something like a barn owl maybe?"

"Uh, I think we're all forgetting something here. Owls eat rabbits." Remus reminded them all. Neville's expression fell slightly at this piece of knowledge.

"Actually, owl's bought in wizarding shops are trained not to eat anything bigger than a mouse. Otherwise, a lot of owners would get complaints about neighbours' pets going missing." Bill mentioned, he had leaned forward in his seat to try and tune the radio in the car. "Any station in particular?" The sound of static and the occasional bit of pop music filled the air.

"Maybe an owl's not right anyway. It might not get on with Hedwig." Neville admitted.

"Something instrumental. Maybe one with jazz?" Remus said. "As long as we get a decent hutch and cage, a rabbit will be fine. Since we only have to get one car now, we have a fair bit of money spare."

"You're both taking driving lessons, Remus already got his licence here and I passed my test last week. Aha! This to your liking?" Bill asked the werewolf triumphantly when saxophones and drums could be heard.

Harry slouched in his seat when he realised that there was even more he had to do before school started. He soon straightened in his seat when houses began to appear among the lush trees.

)(0)(

Bill smiled mischievously when Remus' hand once again reached out to slap his leg from where it rested on the dashboard. Feeling somewhat sorry for the other man, he lowered his leg. "We need to go shopping tomorrow." He reminded the werewolf softly.

"We do?" Remus asked distractedly. Bill imagined that the man was worried to no end about Harry on top of all the recent stress. It was either that or he was getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road.

"Mmhm. Neville doesn't have that many muggle clothes and Harry looks like he's wearing rags. Also, I'm not exactly dressed for the weather here and your clothes look like they've seen better days." Bill met Remus glare with an imploring look. "We can transfigure some of what we have, but that won't be enough."

Remus sighed, admitting defeat. "Alright. I bought all the furniture and appliances last month. We can turn the guest rooms into Harry and Neville's I guess. We'll need to pick up some books as well. For school and some for the NEWTs."

Bill looked at Harry and Neville through the flip-down mirror and sighed. "We'll floo to White Avenue under glamours or polyjuice and pick up what we need. If you give me a list of things to get, you can stay at home and relax and we can alter the clothes that don't fit." He flipped the mirror back up.

"When did you get so practical?" Remus' tone was teasing.

"Hey, I've been living on my own for ages! I'm a big boy now. I have some of Fred and Charlie's hair we could use. Snape gave us a few flasks of polyjuice too" Bill winked.

Then, Remus turned into a long stretch of road with only a few fairly large houses. "Here we go." He announced to the teens.

"They're so big!" Neville gasped.

"Houses here are a helluva lot cheaper than in Britain, so Remus and I had more than enough to buy this together. And then you have the galleon to dollar exchange rate to think about."

"The money I have saved from my job at Hogwarts would cover the whole price of our house and more. And if you take into consideration the fact that wizarding money wasn't affected at all by the economic crisis…"

"And Remus is a saintly version of the Scrooge bloke from that Christmas story."

"Quiet you! Being thrifty never hurt anyone!" Bill grinned as Remus flushed and defended himself.

"Just your wardrobe." He teased. Harry giggled into his hand.

"You're just like your brothers." Remus huffed. Bill smirked at the pout on the man's face. "This is it." The werewolf said as he pulled into the driveway of the final house. It was smaller than the other houses on the road, but there was a large piece of woodland looming behind it. It was fairly isolated and, as such, it would be perfect for the monthly emergence of Moony.

"Looks nice." Harry smiled as they clambered out of the car.

"Yep, Five bedrooms and a study. There's also a living room, two bathrooms, a dining room with a massive kitchen as well as a rec. room and a mini library." Bill listed. "There's also a nice basement for err…practical lessons."

"A library on top of a study?" Neville asked a bit sceptically.

"I have acquired a rather large collection of books." Remus ducked his head slightly whilst hefting a box out of the boot of the car.

Bill hoisted another into his own arms and gestured at Harry to close the boot. "And _then_ you add in what Remus nicked from Black Library."

"Honestly, _William_! I did not 'nick' those books. And besides, who knows what would happen if those books got into the wrong hands." Remus scowled as he juggled the shrunken Black library and their personal belongings with the set of keys had received from the estate agent a month ago. He jiggled the key in the lock and managed to wrestle the door open without dropping his cargo. "We've decorated most of the house but _William_ will help you boys sort out your rooms."

"Shoes off or on?" Harry asked politely.

"Off." Came the joint answer. Harry and Neville both toed off their trainers in the doorway and followed Bill and Remus into the house.

Bill decided to take the teens on a tour of the house whilst Remus went off to add his new tomes to the already large book collection.

"He's like Hermione," Harry observed. "Less intense though." Neville agreed with a hum.

Bill led the younger wizards around the bottom floor of the house; pointing out different items and photos of all of their friends and relatives ("They're meant to go still when a muggle enters the house."). Harry couldn't help but get a bit choked up when he spotted a picture of his parents with Sirius and Remus lying on the mantelpiece in the living room next to a photograph of the Weasley family with Hermione and Harry.

"Um…Are me and Harry going to be sharing a room?" Neville asked Bill quietly, hoping to get across his hidden message. _'We should distract Harry before he gets upset again.'_

Bill got the Gryffindor's hint and looked at Harry's sad expression. _'Poor kid.'_ He mentally sighed. "C'mon then!" He clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder and dragged him out of the room. "Let's get your rooms sorted, eh? I have a feeling that Remus will be awhile. Probably trying to figure out which way to catalogue his babies."

"I heard that, _William!_ I was a Marauder you know!"

Neville and Harry both giggled when Bill's expression became one of fear. "I said it only in jest, dearest." He called out as he led Harry and Neville into the large hallway and up the stairs.

"It'll take more than you acting like a poncy aristocrat for me to let this go." They could here Remus grumble. The colour scheme upstairs was very similar to the one downstairs. Light blue painted and wallpapered walls with cream skirting boards and dado rails. The floor was made of lightly varnished wood which also formed the stairs and banister. Cream rugs and floor runners reduced the chance of somebody slipping over.

"I'll get him some chocolate later." Bill smiled at the boys before he started opening and closing doors. "Uh, these two rooms are yours, the one to the left of them is the study and the one on the right is a spare room. Over there is the bathroom and here are mine and Remus' rooms. We share an en-suite so there shouldn't be too much hassle in the mornings for you guys."

"Can't be any worse than in Hogwarts." Neville chuckled. "Seamus used to take forever."

The younger wizards' rooms faced the back of the house whilst Bill and Remus' rooms faced the front with the study.

"You two will have to fight over who gets the one with two windows."

"Harry can have it, some of my plants don't like too much light."

"If it's okay?" Harry ducked his head shyly.

Bill just sighed and took his wand out, _'That kid is way too quiet! I hope he'll be happy here.'_ "Right then Harry! What colours do you want? I bet you're sick of red and gold eh?"

"I like blue and dark purple…I know it's girly, but the purple really reminds me of Mione."

"No problem Kiddo."

)(0)(

Harry was exhausted after a good four hours of shopping. First of all, he Bill and Neville had hit the shops in White Avenue with the younger boys under the guise of Charlie (Neville) and Fred…or George (Harry). In the Seattle branch of Gringotts (which was the first stop), money that had been transferred over was taken from respective vaults and half had been converted into dollars after the goblins checked the boys' magical signatures. Then they had gone to get a load of textbooks from Mervyn's Manuscripts which had so many books that Hermione could have easily spent her whole life on one of the couches buried in book after book. On top of the books that they had bought for sixth and seventh year NEWTs, Remus had also told them to get several books on glamours and an encyclopaedia on the properties of potions. Harry guessed that both would be useful; they only had so many polyjuice potions stocked and Remus had admitted that potions was not his strong point…although he had said that there was high chance that they'd have a regular teacher by the time school started. Harry sincerely hoped that it wasn't Snape. As bad as it sounded, he had to admit that he had a fear of Neville accidently blowing the house up.

Harry had also picked up a book on becoming a Mediwizard and another on animagi. Obviously he desired to become an animagus like his dad and Sirius, but when Remus had asked him what he wanted to do for a career, Harry was stumped. When Professor McGonagall had asked him several months ago, Harry had told her that he was aiming to become an Auror, but now that he thought about it, he hated fighting even though he wanted to help other people. Harry supposed that he could become a Defence teacher, but he'd hopefully have a family by the time he was fully qualified and couldn't imagine spending the majority of the year away from a potential family. Then, Harry thought of all the time he spent at Hogwarts and came up with the perfect answer to Remus' question.

"I want to be a Mediwizard." He had said earlier that morning.

Remus had smiled, almost in relief. "I thought you were about to say Auror then…you do realise that it won't get you out of taking Potions?"

"I know. I'll put up with it if it means that I can save people's lives." Harry had replied earnestly.

After visiting the books store, Bill had gone to the tailors to grab some work robes, albeit unwillingly. Ron's brother preferred his leather and dragon hide clothes above anything that anywhere had to offer, but had realised that they would be fairly unsuitable with the climate and look unprofessional should he ever (Merlin forbid) need to go to meetings with the goblins or high-end clients. It wasn't like he had the excuse of the scorching Egyptian sun that he had gotten used to in the past.

Bill had then led his charges to the gate to the muggle realm and transfigured their robes into their normal attire at home (ignoring the appreciative stares and wolf-whistles he himself received from several witches and wizards as he changed into leather trousers and a vest with nothing but a thin, white t-shirt to cover his chest), before leading the two teens just recovering from polyjuice into muggle Seattle.

If Harry thought that they spent a long time in Mervyn's Manuscripts, then the amount of time they spent in the clothing stores proved him wrong. Bill was quick to usher the two teens to a shopping assistant whilst he went to buy for himself and Remus. After the shopping assistant spent the better part of half an hour holding different coloured trousers and tops to his eyes, Harry distracted her by saying that Neville looked like he was having trouble with a pair of jeans and silently left, ignoring the glare that his friend sent his way. Harry spent an hour at least by himself picking out t-shirts, jumpers, jeans, underwear, socks and a new pair of trainers (the ones he was wearing looked like they were on their way out). He had then heaved his massive pile to the checkout till where the cashier looked at his load with horror. "We just moved here and my suitcases were lost in baggage." He offered the man by means of explanation. "Security thinks that a man going to Honolulu might have them." When the bill was rung up at over two hundred and fifty dollars, Harry handed over the debit card linked to his Gringotts account. With the amount of money he had there, he could easily spend the money he earned in interest and barely make a dent. Harry heaved his five bags off the counter to stand next to Neville who had finished paying and was waiting for Bill.

When Bill did come back, he discretely put all of the bags into his single bottomless bag and took them to the bookstore where they picked up the books that Remus had indicated in his list; they'd get their text books at school, but still needed several novels for English Literature. They then bought some stationary before the back-to-school rush before finally leaving the shopping district behind. However, they hadn't returned home, instead Harry watched Bill through the mirror as the man muttered directions to himself and peered out of the window for landmarks. After sharing several worried looks with Neville, they eventually pulled into a parking lot and the two teens were surprised to find themselves at a large pet store.

"There's a supply shop back in Forks, but nowhere to actually buy an animal, and we haven't hooked the net up yet so this was the best place we could find from the phone book." Bill explained before leading the younger wizards into the shop.

"U-um, this isn't necessary at all, y'know?" Neville tugged at his shirt nervously as they stepped through the double-doors.

"Remus figures that you guys are responsible enough for pets already, and I trust his judgement." Bill grinned easily as he ruffled the teen's hair.

"I'm gonna go look at the tropical fish." Harry decided, already politely waving the overly-cheery clerk away.

"Cool, tell us if you see anything you like." Bill steered Neville away to look at a litter of puppies whilst Harry moved to the back of the store where the reptiles and fish were kept out of the way. Harry wasn't a really big fan of snakes; they held too many negative connotations and it'd be weird talking to one everyday. The latter was the main reason why Harry would never consider the limbless reptiles as pet material, alongside the whole basilisk thing of course. However, none of this stopped him from sitting on an empty crate and spending half an hour chatting to the store's snakes about the magic world and other things.

~"So, this _serpensortia _spell, it can summon _any_ snake, you say?"~ A male python named Mary-Lou asked with interest.

~"I'm not really sure, I've never used it really."~ Harry admitted.

Mary-Lou was about to ask something else when they were interrupted by a startled cry from an animal handler. "Oh, Sir! Catch those rabbits!"

Harry was about to ask what he was talking about when he felt two tiny paws against his jeans. Harry looked down to find two baby rabbits, one black and the other a caramel colour, trying to climb into his lap. He ignored Mary's _extremely_ interested hiss and cradled the rabbits in his arms. They were _adorable_ – Harry wouldn't have been surprised if Malfoy melted at the sight of them. Behind the clerk stood Bill and Neville who was now carrying a plastic carrier with another two rabbits; one grey and the other white with black patches.

"We'll take them as well." Bill sighed as soon as he saw the caramel rabbit reach up to lick Harry's nose. _'Stupid, cute animals.'_

"Are you sure, Bill?" Harry asked, startled.

"Of course I am!" Bill helped the black haired teen manoeuvre his new pets into another carry case which a clerk produced. "Hell, I was meant to pay for your clothes!"

"But it cost so much!"

"Me and Remus took all of these costs into consideration…well maybe not four rabbits, but still, you should have waited for me before you paid at the shopping centre."

"I have enough money."

"Look, if you want to be so independent, get a job or something in a bit. We expect you guys to rely on us." Bill groaned. _'He really doesn't like counting on other people – I wonder whose fault that is?_' Bill turned to the cashier who was waiting patiently. "Can you double up everything we've bought so far?"

The store manager who was stood to the side looked incredible happy as soon as she heard those words.

)(0)(

Remus sighed as he turned off the engine in the staff parking lot. He looked at the main road somewhat wistfully…Bill and Neville would still be asleep, Harry however, would be awake and probably making breakfast for the others. It was so hard to snap people out of their routines, even after a week. Since they'd arrived, Harry and Neville had been diligently trying to catch up with muggle education. At them moment they were both focussing on Maths, English, Science, French and Spanish, but when Remus went to enrol them, he would have to have a word with the headmaster about a reduced timetable. The boys had loads to catch up on and a month alone was nowhere near enough. Remus' mind began to wonder further, distracting him from the inevitable. Bill was so lucky; he had another two weeks until he was meant to start at Gringotts.

Remus shook his head to clear it. "Come on Lupin!" He muttered to himself. "You're a grown adult, you can do this!" And with that mantra running through his head, Remus got out and locked the car, shoving his keys inside his pocket. He made his way to the double doors and went to the reception desk.

"Umm, hullo." He greeted the middle-aged receptionist nervously. "I don't suppose you could help me. I'm Remus Mondstrahl, I'm meant to be starting here today as a nurse." He said, using the name that they'd decided to take on just in case someone tried to find them through muggle means.

The brunette's eyes widened in recognition. "The new nurse!" She exclaimed. "We were all wondering where you came from! You don't really look all that German. Hi, I'm Martha!"

"Yes, my grandfather was half German, then he moved to England." Remus laughed nervously.

"I see. You and your friend were very generous in taking those kids in, what were their names?" Here, Remus guessed that some people must have seen them grocery shopping and took it in stride.

"Harry and Neville. Bill and I adopted them recently. Harry's been an orphan since he was a baby; his parents were my best friends in school. Neville's grandmother who was looking after him just died recently." The receptionist's eyes welled in sadness. "O-Oh God!" Remus stammered. "Please don't cry! I think I have a tissue in here somewhere."

"It's just so sad!" The woman sighed before taking in a deep breath and trying to calm down. She dabbed her eyes with the tissue Remus offered her. "Umm, here are some forms for you to fill in, most of your other paperwork was processed after your interview. The doctor that you'll be assisting today will be down shortly. He'll take you to the locker-room where you can get into your scrubs." Martha handed him a clipboard and a pen. "And you're taking tomorrow and Wednesday off, yes?"

"Yes, it is a bit awkward with it being my first week isn't it?" Remus took the objects with a smile and began filling in his details, his stomach churning at the thought of the full moon due on Wednesday. He was about to hand the forms and pen back when he sensed someone approaching.

"Good morning, Martha. How are you today?" Remus heard the person with the most gorgeous voice he had ever heard say.

"Oh! Dr Cullen! Good morning, I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm alright though Alice hasn't been feeling too well." Was Alice Pretty-Voice's wife? Remus wondered. "I hear that you have Nurse Mondstrahl waiting for me. You wouldn't happen to know where she is?"

'_What a sexist pig!'_ Remus scowled indignantly at the doctor who assumed he was a patient and cleared his throat, he hated it when people assumed he was a woman just because he was a nurse; apparently midwives had the same problem.

Martha giggled behind her hand. "He's right behind you!" she twittered.

The golden haired man turned to face Remus who would have been blown away by Dr Cullen's beauty if he wasn't so annoyed at the man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr Cullen." Remus bit out at the man with a glare. He then handed the forms back to Martha with a sparkly, "Here you go!"

"I apologise for my earlier assumption Mr Mondstrahl. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Carlisle Cullen, It's nice to meet you." Remus grudgingly shook the other man's hand.

"Remus Monstrahl." He was startled at how unbelievably cold it was before he remembered that it was some unwritten rule somewhere that all doctors had cold hands. He pushed it to the back of his mind.

"If you'll follow me Remus, I'll get you sorted with some scrubs and a locker." Carlisle smiled at Martha before he began walking away. Remus waved at the very amused woman and then followed the other man.

'_They'd look so good together if Dr Cullen wasn't married.'_ Martha mentally sighed before she picked up the phone and dialled Admin. "Brenda? You'll never guess what happened!"

)(0)(

Alice groaned in frustration as once again her visions turned blank. "This is annoying me now!" She huffed. She'd randomly gotten that vision of the boy with green eyes saying something to make Vision-Edward laugh loudly a few weeks ago and since then had been trying to find out more. However it's was like something was purposefully trying to block her from finding out any more about Mystery-Boy. Mystery-Boy _had_ to be something amazing if he could make the ever-surly Edward laugh like that – it only made her want to find out more about him.

"Call it divine justice for all those times you cheated!" Emmett suggested from in front of the TV.

"You're not helping!" Emmett just laughed at the seer's whine. Rosalie looked up briefly before looking back down at her car magazine, idly flicking a page.

Edward just glared at Alice for keeping the vision to herself. Whenever he tried to find out what it was, all he got was whale music or sewing patterns.

Alice moaned and flopped back against the sofa in a very human gesture, annoyed when nothing came to her mind.

Jasper silently patted his wife's head consolingly.

* * *

AN2: I had a lot of mixed feelings about this chapter, but in the end, I did my best to get it out. I keep on getting more and more shocked by the responses to WF, this month, the amount of reviews I got _doubled_ and I breached the 100 review mark (counting the comments on my LJ and posts)

As usual, thanks to everybody who added WF/me to various lists and things. There were a few reviews in particular that prompted me to get writing this time instead of wallowing in the piles of work. As for the rest of May and June, I will try to post something, but I will be incredibly busy with school and exams. I'm doing my damndest to get into Birmingham Uni.

Another routine bit - You can check up on the fic through my live journal where my username is Bittersweet_mis. I usually post once a fortnight or more with news on my fic or stuff in general, you might even get the odd snippet.

Finally, if anyone wants to listen to the songs which I get the titles from, just let me know in a review/email/pm so I can sort out an internet playlist thingymabob.

As per usual, any feedback is greatly appreciated and I'll try to reply as much as possible through the reply system on the site - if not, leave your email if you want me to get back to you.


	5. Close Your Ears

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction.

AN: Christ, I'm so sorry that this took so long! I mean to have this done a fortnight after exams ended, not any longer. The main delay (apart from exams which finished mid-June) was that we've had some family problems and I've also had some other commitments. However, I hope this super-long chapter will make up for it! n_n

On a different note, **I need a beta** to proof-read my chapters, he or she needs to be _very_ good with spelling and grammar, quick and preferably someone who can help me with cultural issues. If you're interested, let me know via review, private messaging or a comment in my live journal (see footnote).

)(0)( = scene change  
--.--.-- = short time skip/POV change within the same scene

* * *

**Close Your Ears**

_Please close your ears and try to look away,  
So you'll never hear a single word I say,_

_- Cave - Muse_

__________

Neville sighed as he began to spray fertiliser onto the plant beds. Remus had gone to work that morning, and Bill had realised when he woke up that the full moon would arrive the Wednesday coming. He'd left awhile ago through the newly connected floo, but Neville hadn't been able to catch the name of the place where he was going. Both he and Harry had decided to relax in lieu of the absence of their guardians. So whilst Harry had decided to figure out how to connect to the internet, Neville had decided that he would tend to the abundance of plants in their massive garden.

Normally, both he and Harry would take care of the plants together, but today, Neville was grateful for the alone-time. Since they had left, the small not-close-enough-to-be-a-family had been rushed off their feet. Harry and Neville had been forcing themselves into learning the entire muggle curriculum that they'd never had a chance to learn, whilst both Bill and Remus were trying so hard to set up a routine and make a home out of their house in Forks. He did have to admit, that it seemed like it was beginning to work…even if Remus was incredibly over-caring. Although he was grateful for all of this, Neville just needed time to think. It was becoming evident only now just exactly how big a move was for him. He was in a completely foreign country with absolutely no idea what half of the stuff in the kitchen was actually meant to do. Harry and Remus were teaching him (along with Bill who had nearly blown up the cooker) about muggle life and all of the weird things that were everyday items, but he couldn't help but feel incredibly out of depth. For one thing, he couldn't grasp physics, something which he was somewhat reassured that Harry didn't get either. Maths was doable - barely - and he wasn't too concerned about learning American History; he figured that if he'd been going to a muggle school in England, he'd be learning about the World Wars instead (Hermione's notes said as much).

Neville had left his grandmother on her deathbed…the woman who had given up a lot by taking him in when he was a baby. His uncles and aunts couldn't have cared less; for them the only thing that mattered was the fact that he could attend Hogwarts and let the world know that the Longbottom family still existed. His grandma was brilliant in that way, she hadn't believed in all that elitist stuff unlike her long deceased husband who had influenced their progeny into the same manner of thinking. It wasn't quite in the same manner as the Malfoys or other pure blood supremacists but all the thoughts of nobility and blood lines were up there. When Neville thought of his mum and dad, he always wondered whether they would be somewhat kinder versions of his grandmother, or more along the lines of the rest of his family. Either way, it didn't make a difference anymore…the Lestrange family had seen to it that he would never be able to know his parents. Neville sighed to himself with that thought. _'The Lestranges seem like they are obsessed with Voldemort, and he went mental after he saw that fake prophecy. What was he like before that? Is anything that has happened not Dumbledore's fault in the end?'_

Neville shook his head and went back to his plants. All of this contemplation wasn't helpful for him right now…he just needed to keep his head down for the moment. He grabbed a trowel, missing Harry's concerned gaze from an upstairs window.

)(0)(

"Do not worry Headmaster. I will see that it is done." Severus Snape said as he watched Albus Dumbledore's frantic head disappear back into the flames which soon turned back to the orange colour that one would have expected. Severus sneered after his employer, annoyed to no ends at the lack of sheer common sense that the old man was in dire need of. Didn't he realise that there was nothing that he could do to get Potter back? It was all legal in the eyes of the Ministry and even though the not-so-good headmaster wanted to keep it all under the rug for the meantime, somehow word would get out that the Boy-Who-Lived had left the country. After that would undoubtedly happen, all sorts of speculation would start to arise and nothing that the headmaster could say would sate the hunger of the ruthless reporters. However there was more trouble to be had other than that of crazed reporters; now that Dumbledore had lost his figurehead for the 'light' side of the war, what would he do? Yes, Severus could read minds; however, the brain of Dumbledore was one that nobody had a chance of looking into. A more plausible event would be James Potter rising from the dead and snogging the Dark Lord silly. He touched wood on that one. Severus' only saving grace to date had been that he was able to allow his mind to spin tales for the power-hungry wizard to buy into, shielding him from the truth and keeping Lily's son and his own position safe.

Severus turned back to his brewing Veritaserum, about to take off the status freezing spell before he heard the fireplace flare up again. "What is it _this_ time?" He snarled turning around and expecting to find Dumbledore. He was, however, met with the sight of a harried looking Bill Weasley and forced himself to school his expression. At least the eldest of the Weasley spawn had the nerve to look apologetic at his intrusion.

"Sorry Severus, I wasn't interrupting anything was I?" Bill winced at the Potions Master's disgruntled expression.

"Not yet." He grumbled. "You just missed the dear headmaster." Bill's expression darkened at the news.

"What did he have to say for himself?"

"He wanted me to find out where Potter went; he believes that the boy should be kept firmly under control."

"Does he realise that he's been found out?"

"No, Albus just thinks that this is a bit of rebellion due to the Mutt's _unfortunate_ demise." Severus explained with a sneer. "He does not realise that Potter and Longbottom are with yourself and the Wolf thanks to the letter you sent last week."

"Speaking of Remus, you wouldn't happen to have some Wolfsbane potion on you? The full moon's on Wednesday." Bill pointedly chose to ignore the jab against Sirius.

"I'm well aware of that. The blue bottle on the third shelf, Lupin knows what to do."

Bill carefully placed the aforementioned potion in his bag. "Also, are you still okay to come teach me and the boys occlumency? There's only so much we can get from books."

"I shall make arrangements with Lupin on Thursday. And do not expect me to teach either of those hopeless dimwits Potions." Severus hissed when Bill opened his mouth again.

"Um, okay then, I'll just be off." Bill announced awkwardly before moving back to the fireplace.

"Wait." Severus sighed. "Tell Lupin to consider a date for lessons when all of you are available, there's something I need to tell you… all of you." His tone was reluctant at best.

"Severus?"

"Just tell him, Weasley." He massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

As soon as Bill left through the fireplace, Severus slouched over in exhaustion. He had decided then that he would do everything he could to make this entire situation come out as best as it possibly could.

'_I hope that I have made the right choice for both of you…if only for your memories.'_

Severus straightened his posture in determination. "I need to speak with Lucius." He announced to himself before he too left through the fireplace, abandoning an incomplete cauldron of truth serum.

)(0)(

As soon as Remus entered the staff canteen, he decided that working in this hospital was very much like being back in Hogwarts. _Everyone _sat in their groups; nurses with nurses, doctors with doctors and the same applied very much to surgeons, administration staff and whatever other positions there were in Forks General. This little revelation gave the newbie a small amount of dread. During his rounds with Dr Cullen (who was insistent on eating his lunch in his office whilst going over papers), he hadn't actually interacted with the many busy (and very female) nurses. Call him silly, but the idea of sitting in an all female crowd, whom he didn't even catch the names of, was rather intimidating. On the other hand, Remus had spent a lot of time with the administrators, chatting whilst waiting for patients' files and a few test results. They were generally friendlier and less standoffish than the other staff members he had encountered so far which was the main reason that Remus found his feet making their way to table where Martha sat with her colleagues.

"Umm, excuse me?" He announced himself, suddenly feeling very self-conscious as all eyes turned to him. _'Maybe I should have just gone to the car…'_ "Is it okay if I sit here?" _'I swear my voice is _not_ that high pitched!'_ "If that's okay, I mean."

"Honestly! We aren't gonna bite!" Martha beamed. She gesture for someone to pull up a chair and Remus sank into the seat gratefully. "Everyone, this is Remus Mondstrahl, he's the new nurse. He's British." The woman introduced him.

"Aha! I win! Fork it over Smith!" A spiky haired lad who looked like he was in his twenties grinned triumphantly, he held out his hand expectantly towards a blonde male with brown eyes. 'Smith' reluctantly fished a twenty dollar bill from his back pocket and handed it to his colleague opposite him.

"Zack and Elliot had a bet going to see whereabouts you came from." Martha explained at Remus' raised eyebrow. "Elliot's the blonde one and Zack's the one with black hair."

"And they both haven't heard of subtlety at all." The thin looking woman next to Remus sneered. She was reading a women's magazine whilst eating a chicken salad. "Hey, I'm Sarah, excuse those dolts…some of us have manners."

"I live with two teens and a bloke who doesn't realise that you can wear things that aren't made of leather. I'm used to it." He laughed at the wounded expressions on the two friends.

The rest of the table introduced themselves and Remus happily answered their questions about England and his new family (being as vague as possible when needed) whilst eating his lunch.

"…And Dr Cullen's been very polite and helpful…although he decided to stay in his office today." Remus smiled when asked about his day so far. _'I'm not sure it'll help if I say that he smells a bit odd.'_ It was true…there was something just plain _wrong_ about Dr Cullen's scent, but Remus couldn't identify it. He would have said that the man was a vampire if he considered the colder hands earlier, but he was an ex-Defence professor and had (unfortunately) spent some time among the undead. Carlisle definitely did not have the stench of death lurking about him and he would have been dust from the meagre light that Forks had to offer its inhabitants if he was indeed allergic to sunlight.

"No surprise there." Sarah frowned at what looked to be a page of shoes.

"Eh? Is this normal then?"

"Yeah." Elliot said nicking a chip from Zack's tray; he dipped it in ketchup before popping it in his mouth and grinning cheekily at his friend. "Since I started working here I've seen him come in here only like two or three times…and even then it was to talk with the other docs or surgeons.

'_Okay, now that sounds suspicious.' _

"We're not worthy of his awesome, hunky, man-god presence." Zack joked with an easy-going grin before he and Elliot pretended to be cooing women with overly exaggerated voices. "Oh! Dr Cullen! I've conveniently dropped my files at your feet, taking advantage of your incredibly gentlemanly nature!"

"Oh Carlisle," Elliot mock sighed. "This oral thermometer just won't work! You'll have to take my temperature another way!"

"Okay, guys. That's just plain wrong." A man named Sebastian laughed. "And disgusting, El."

"Oh! Oh! I so know what I'm getting you two for Christmas." A perky brunette who apparently went by the name of Andy exclaimed.

"A rectal thermometer? Kinky!" Elliot grimaced as he received a cuff round the back of his head.

"Boys." Sarah scowled.

"We're not all that bad. Harry – my nephew, I guess I should call him that – would rather spend an afternoon knitting than watching an action film." Remus chuckled. "He's quite crafty really. And Neville's really shy too – he loves working in the garden."

"They're the kid's you took in?" The nurse nodded in confirmation.

"He's a busy man," Martha reminded the others about Dr Cullen. "And besides, he might just like his space – it _does_ get busy here sometimes. Is there anything good on the problem page, Sarah?"

"Not really – a load of sex questions…some veggie is debating the whether she could possibly purchase a pair of leather shoes there's this woman trying to justify cheating on her husband with another woman – she's got a crap argument and her husband seems like a right doll. She's coming off as a right bitch." The Asian woman's tone became annoyed.

"Poor bloke, it hurts to be cheated on, especially if it's for a fling." Remus sighed sadly.

"If I was with someone, and they cheated on me, I'd rather that they did it because they were in love with the other person…you know?" Andy mused. Sebastian patted her head gently.

"Well, I hope that the bitch get's everything that's coming to her. Serves her right for being a filthy lesbian whore." A man named Phil grunted angrily, his fierce words silenced the chatter on the table. "I'm getting back to work." Remus couldn't help but keep his eyes on the other man as he dumped his tray. The negative emotion behind those words had struck Remus with dread.

"Bastard." Sarah spat as soon as he left.

"That man worries me." Martha shook her head sadly. "We're not liiving in the Deep South(1)." She said, trying to be reassuring.

"I-I should go." Remus pretty much whispered. The others looked worried as his sad expression and then the several dawning looks of surprise clued the werewolf that his new friends had figured out his sexuality. He guessed that his expression pretty much said it all. He got up and binned his trash before bidding goodbye to the 'admin table'.

Several of them – Martha included – smile at him encouragingly. "Sit with us again, yeah?" Zack waved.

"Sure."

Sarah got up and gathered her belongings, passing her magazine to Brenda, Martha's friend. "I'll walk with you to the nurses' station, Okay?" They made their way out of the canteen and through the quiet hospital corridors.

"That poor man," Remus could hear Martha sigh. "Imagine hearing something like that on your first day. I hope you all keep quiet about Remus – he's such a sweet man and doesn't need any trouble."

"Mum's the word." Elliot chirped. The other agreed.(3)

"Ignore Phil, Remus. He's the biggest asshole about these things I know, but he can't do anything if you keep your head down. Not exactly the sharpest crayon, that man." Sarah advised when they were out of earshot. "The other guys won't say anything, we're not like that." She declared with a confident twitch of her lips.

"Thank you." Remus impulsively pressed a swift kiss to the woman's cheek. Even though she came off a bit cold, it was obvious that she had her reasons and had been hurt in the past if her reaction to the problem page and the cheating woman was anything to go by. Her disdain at Phil's attitude had given Remus confidence that she wouldn't be prejudiced against the fact he was gay.

Sarah grinned happily. "C'mon, let's get you to Dr Cullen; a chocolate bar says that there's some bimbo trying to give him an eyeful."

"Double it if it's a nurse." Remus winked playfully.

--.--.--

Later that day, as Remus was getting into his car ready to go home, he decided that Phil and accidently coming out of the closet aside, it hadn't been that bad for a first day. Zack, Elliot, Andy and Sarah waved at him from across the car park and Sarah pointedly bit a massive chunk out of a chocolate bar he had gotten her from the vending machines.

Carlisle Cullen was certainly quite the charmer, so much so that he could have easily been mistaken as a veela, but the scent was all wrong. Remus started the engine and pulled out of his parking space. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Carlisle leaving through the front entrance '_I _will_ find out exactly what you are, Cullen.'_ The werewolf thought before going home to join his cub and the rest of their family.

)(0)(

Carlisle Cullen opened his arms to accommodate his wife as soon as he entered his home and smiled indulgingly as he pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. "How was your day?" He asked, still wrapped around Esme.

"So-so. The usual. I started a new project today."

"Oh?"

"A dealer in New York asked for a landscape piece. How was work?"

"Good…odd." Carlisle frowned in thought – his day had been different to say the least.

"Odd? How so?" Esme asked, she rested her arm in the crook of her husband's and lead him into the front room where their children were. Jasper and Emmet were playing videogames, Rosalie and Alice went through fashion magazines together and Edward sat frowning by himself in a corner reading a book – Wuthering Heights.

"There was a new nurse assisting me today." Carlisle answered.

Rosalie looked up with a frown. "Did something happen?" She asked cautiously, she was the most protective of their way of life.

"I didn't see anything." Alice informed them.

"She didn't do anything, did she?" Esme questioned, looking into her husband's eyes.

Edward chuckled at Esme's question causing the rest of his siblings to glower at him in disapproval at his amusement at what they assumed to be Esme's expense. "_He." _ Edward stressed with a smirk. "You stuck your foot in it there, didn't you Father?"

"I admit that I may have made an unjust assumption." Carlisle replied diplomatically.

"But that's not the problem at hand, is it?" Jasper asked, his father was deeply troubled, he could sense it.

"No. That man's scent, it troubles me greatly. I have not encountered anything like it."

"He's not your Singer is he?" Emmett asked, an arm slung casually around Rosalie's tense shoulders. Esme stiffened at this suggestion.

"He's not." Carlisle felt Esme relax slightly. "He smelt of dog – not of the La Push shifters, nowhere near as awful as that and not quite the same. It's the only way I can think of describing it."

"Can't you be more specific?" Edward asked.

"Hmm, I'm afraid not. He's definitely not a werewolf…but whatever he is, I have never come across anything like it."

"You can't see anything Alice?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid." Came the reply with a sad shake of the brunette's head.

"I have no idea whether he's a threat, however, you might be able to find out from his children."

"The man-thing has kids?" asked Emmett incredulously, earning a slap from a narked off Rosalie.

"Remus looks as human as the people in the streets. He has adopted the children with the man he is living with currently. If I am correct, one of the boys is his orphaned godson."

"They will be going to school with us?" Jasper asked.

"I think they will be Juniors so you should have some classes together."

"Okay." And with that, Edward Cullen turned back to Cathy and Heathcliff, signalling to the others that the matter of the mysterious Remus Mondstrahl was resolved for the moment.

Carlisle left the living room in favour of his office after gifting Esme with another kiss. As he sat going through several malpractice files and medical journals, his mind just could help but wander back to the (rather matronly) amber-eyed man whom he had foolishly assumed to be female that morning.

'_Remus Mondstrahl…Just exactly what are you?'_

)(0)(

Remus shifted anxiously in his seat in the lounge, it was only one and a half hours until sunset and his nerves were on edge. The day before, Tuesday, had seen himself and Bill getting ready for tonight. Mainly setting noise blockers on the house and containment fields on the basement so that the damage would be minimal if something was to go wrong. Then they had set barriers around the garden and the woods. The main idea was that Remus would change in the basement and, if his wolf's temperament was low, then he would be led into the garden. It had been Bill's idea when Remus had told him that he always felt calmer in the outdoors, even when under the influence of Wolfsbane potion.

Whilst the Wolfsbane potion did allow Remus to influence his more feral side, there had been times in the past where the potion had not been in full effect and Moony had become more violent than normal. This was the main reason why Remus had kept himself isolated all this time. He refused to even allow the possibility of allowing anyone to get hurt, especially if it was someone that he loved or cared for that was endangered.

Neville quite effectively distracted Remus by flopping down next to him on the sofa. Remus' eyes flickered from the telly which was broadcasting the local news.

"Is something wrong, Neville?" He asked, reaching forward for his tea. He had elected not to eat dinner, the Wolfsbane potion that Severus had sent with Bill would no doubt cause him to vomit whatever was in his stomach. Instead, the werewolf had been content to what Harry potter about the kitchen whilst feeding Mr Darcy some dandelion leaves. Harry, it seemed, was a sucker for Austen and had decided to name the rabbits after his favourite characters; the black rabbit was now Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and the caramel one was Captain Frederick Wentworth(2). (When Bill had raised a questioning eyebrow, Harry had indignantly huffed: "Well what else do you thing I should call them? Fluffy and Bun-Bun?")

Neville sank further into the cushions and furiously rubbed at his eyes. "I'm sick of all this studying. I can honestly say that whoever thought up of Physics deserves to be thoroughly cursed…then shot…several times for good measure."

"Well then," Remus began, pausing to drain the last of his mug. "I suppose that it's a good thing that you can do one or two sciences at Forks."

"_Excuse me?_" Neville rasped. "You mean to tell me that I don't _have_ to actually know the forces behind turning _door handles_?"

"Did I not mention that?" Remus asked. He thought for a moment. "Don't bother learning American History then. You and Harry will be having free periods then instead."

"Now he tells me!" Neville huffed, his eye twitching. "I'm gonna go water the plants." The teen sighed in defeat. "I suppose I should tell Harry the good news then."

"He's on the phone with his aunt."

"Is Bill done washing up yet?"

"Yes, he'll be in the shower now. He got more water on himself than anything else." Remus chuckled, sharing a smile with Neville. Their red-headed compatriot was hopeless with every kitchen chore which he had been ordered to do by Remus (who did the vacuuming and dusting). Apart from garden work set by Neville, Bill's only niche appeared to be ironing and dusting the areas which Remus was unable to reach.

"Remus?" Neville asked hesitantly. "What's it like? When you change…does it hurt?" His voice was quiet.

"It kills me, every time. The pain is unbearable. It feels like I'm being flayed and like my nerves are on fire."

"I-Is it meant to hurt so much?!?" Neville asked, startled at Remus' dark tone.

"I don't think it is." The man said slowly. "I shifted with a pack once and there were only a few of us in pain. Afterwards the Alpha told me that he had once felt that pain, but he had accepted the gift the moon had given him and the pain stopped. I never did understand what he meant, I'd accepted a long time ago that I was a werewolf."

"So…it's the potion that's hurting you?" Neville questioned, thinking that it was the only likely explanation.

"No, it isn't…there were only a few times…when I was your age that I didn't feel the pain…I remember, it used to be me, Sirius, James and Peter in the Shrieking Shack…though Prongs and Padfoot forgot about Pettigrew, his form was too small for Moony to care about."

"Hmm…what's it like…after you've transformed? Does it still hurt?" Neville's brow was furrowed, and Remus could tell that he was thinking hard.

"It's like I'm sinking in a darkness and I'm unable to keep control…or sometimes I feel detached from everything. I always have to wait a few minutes to remember in the morning though…what…_I_ did during the night. That's the worst feeling ever, that sinking feeling when you realise that you've done something bad…or something's not quite right."

Neville leaned forward and rested his chin on the palm propped up by his knee. "Maybe…it hurts because of you."

It was Remus' turn to gape at Neville. "I'm sorry?"

"Think about it. I think that it's possible that you didn't feel the pain when you were in school because you had accepted yourself as a person. You felt secure with your friends, but that security was broken when Mr Black used you to hurt Professor Snape." Neville suggested slowly

"That can't be it." Remus said weakly.

"It's just my thought on it…it probably won't be of any help." Neville waved a hand dismissively. "Don't get stressed about it or anything, you worry too much."

"Can you blame me? With all that's happened?"

"I guess not." The brunette sighed. "Well hopefully things will quieten down." He smiled, trying to be reassuring.

Harry appeared in the doorway, worry all over his features and looking out of breath from running down the stairs. "Remus! Bill says it's time for you to take your potion now. He's just setting things up for the morning." His tone was anxious. "I put Basil and Sorrel away." He said to Neville who smiled gratefully in return.

"Time to get this over and done with," Remus sighed. He turned the television of and got to his feet. In the hallway, Harry handed Remus the Wolfsbane potion which Remus gulped down, grimacing at the slimy texture and overly earthy taste of the liquid.

"Do you want some water?" Neville asked when he was done.

Remus tried to get as much saliva in his mouth as he could to get rid of the taste and gritty after-texture. "No thank you, Neville." He smiled weakly, "It'll just weaken the effects."

"If you're sure." Neville said with uncertainty.

"Have you taken the potion yet?" Bill asked as he came down the stairs. He was shirtless, barefoot and only wearing a pair of faded black jeans and his wand holster on his arm. As he walked, he scrubbed at his dripping wet, long hair with a small towel.

"Every last drop." The Marauder replied.

"Alright then, how do you want to do this?"

"I want Harry and Neville to be upstairs, then lock me in the basement and you can let me out if I'm not feral." Remus ordered Bill, he let his eyes meet the other wizard's, trying to convey the importance of his words.

"I thought that the Wolfsbane potion stopped that from happening." Harry pointed out.

"It does…normally. However, this is a completely new environment especially for the wolf, so there's no telling how strong it will be against my influence. That's all the potion does, give me influence." Remus explained softly.

"Right then, you two. The sun's setting soon, so it's upstairs with you." Bill tilted his head toward the teens.

Neville lightly squeezed Remus' arm. "Good luck, Remus."

Harry, however saw it fit to wrap his arms around the nurse and bury his face in his woollen jumper.

"Hey, c'mon now." Remus said soothingly. "It'll all be alright, nothing's going to happen." He returned the hug.

"I'm going to become an animagus so that you don't have to be alone." The teen declared, worry still leaking into his voice.

"That's very selfless of you, Harry. Now, go upstairs, okay? I love you." Remus smiled. He pulled away from the hug with a squeeze and rubbed Harry's shoulder.

"I love you too, Moony." Harry managed to reply before Neville dragged him up the stairs after receiving a pointed look from Bill.

When the sounds of movement coming from upstairs settled down, Bill turned to the werewolf with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Remus asked as he began unlocking the basement door.

"Clothes…unless they survive the change."

Oh…umm…right then…" Remus blushed. He wriggled out of his jumper and tossed it vaguely in Bill's direction before he entered the basement.

"I'll hand you the rest in a second, he said flicking on the light and closing the door after himself. In the hallway, Bill frowned at the jumper in his hands, listening to the rustling of clothes as Remus stripped himself. Moments later a bare arm reached out and threw a ball of clothes at Bill (who quite frankly couldn't believe that the other adult was so self-conscious of his body).

"Remus?"

"Yes?" Asked the muffled voice.

"Just exactly how will I know if you go feral?" Bill took the wand handed to him.

"Trust me, you'll know." came the dead-panned answer.

The arm withdrew and the door closed. "Lock it, Bill." Remus ordered. "And for fuck's sake, don't let go of your wand."

"Got it." Bill cast aside Remus' clothes and slipped his wand into his hand from its position on his arm. He then slid the bolt into place on the door feeling the flow of the magic as the spells and wards reformed around the underground space.

--.--.--

Upstairs, Harry sat on his bed with Captain Wentworth and Mr Darcy wriggling on his lap. Hedwig had already been out hunting and was perched on the desk, drinking water. Neville came in the room and smiled reassuringly at his classmate. "I got us some reading material." He said, holding up a heavy and old tome.

"What's that?"

"Old transfiguration text from the library downstairs. It has notes written in it so I think that we can use it with that book you got when we went shopping."

Harry took the book and began leafing through it. "Neville," his lips twitched, "I bought load of books in White Avenue. Which one are you on abou – oh." The teen realised what the volume was based on; the transfiguration of living organisms with a rather hefty chunk on animagi.

"If your dad and his mate could do this, then so can we." The brunette's eyes shone with determination as he took the book back.

Harry got up and put the rabbits in their hutch (he wasn't a big fan of cages and had enough space for the hutch), giving Captain Wentworth a final scratch behind the ears before locking the door. Hedwig fluttered to his shoulders and nipped his ear affectionately. "Ta, girl." He then joined Neville and grabbed the book on animagi he had bought from under the bed.

The green-eyed wizard visibly blanched when he heard a loud cry of pain from downstairs. "Oh God!" he whimpered with wide eyes. The screaming continued.

"H-He'll be okay." Neville wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and squeezed. "Bill's there. He'll look after Remus."

Harry could only clutch Neville's free arm tightly, almost drawing blood as his ears were assaulted by Remus' distorted shouts.

"Merlin."

--.--.--

A ball of dread welled up in the pit of Remus' stomach as he heard the bolt slide into place on the other side of the wooden door. He made his way slowly down the stairs and flicked the second light switch in the room, bathing himself in the darkness. He let his eyes adjust before he made his way to the small cot in the corner. The threadbare blanket felt rough against his skin and Remus could barely suppress a shudder. He lay back on the mattress and focused on slowing his breathing rate. From experience, he knew the transition between man and wolf was easiest when the body was relaxed, but his mind was raging with worries and concerns. What if he lost control of the wolf and the potion wasn't strong enough? What if the spells on the door weren't enough to contain him should he turn feral? He couldn't bare the thought of hurting his new family.

What if he bit them? What if he bit them and damned to share his curse? Damned them to a life of lycanthropy? Or worse…what would happen if the wolf raged far beyond his control? Remus choked back the bile which burned the back of the throat. At that last thought, his mind was filled with gruesome images of Bill, Neville and Harry, their bodies coated in blood and mangled almost beyond recognition. His breath hitched. How could he even imagine this happening? It was true what his mother had said to him all those years ago…he was nothing more than a monster.

Remus' thoughts were cut off as pain lanced up his spine, his back arching with it. The pain throbbed briefly at the base of his neck before it spread across his entire body, his nerves alighting as they were destroyed, rebuilt and rearranged. He could feel his bones start to dissolve and reform. Remus released a terrified shriek as his organs shifted and changed shape, some parts dying and others being synthesised. Some old bones moved to support this new arrangement whereas others broke under the pressure. The half human–half wolf howled in agony as his brain changed shape, supported by the shifting structure of his skull. He shrieked as the newly formed vertebrae snapped into place, his body forced off the weak mattress by the wild convulsions.

At some point, Remus felt his heart stop, the rapid thud-thud being suddenly absent let him know that this would soon all be over. The beating re-started, this time under a different yet familiar rhythm that the hybrid loathed. Remus eye's burned as cells inside rearranged and new neural pathways were formed. As Remus' vision was taken from him, his skin itched and burned as fur began to sprout from the follicles. The werewolf was finally gifted with his new vision, eyes sharper then ever as he took in the final stages of his limbs shifting and forming paws. A tail was already twitching at the base of his backbone as Remus' shouts became twisted and strangled when his vocal chords morphed into something completely different.

Finally, he sank into unconsciousness.

--.--.--

Upon awakening, Moony looked at his bleak surroundings in confusion. Where was he? This was not his home…he did not recognise any of the human furnishings, nor could he smell the scents of his other pack mates…not the stag nor the dog who had kept him company on many occasions. The wolf snarled briefly in remembrance of the filthy rat. If they were not here, where were they? Where was he? Then, Moony belatedly realised that he had not seen his stag for many moons.

'_Dead.' _His human told him,_ 'Prongs is dead and Wormtail killed him.'_

The wolf got to his paws, whining and whimpering as he did. That was right…the traitorous rat had taken away his Prongs and blamed his Padfoot. He remembered how much he had snarled at his Padfoot after he had returned from his exile, angry for letting himself believe the lies of a traitor. Eventually, the wolf got to his paws, his claws clicking against the cold, hard cement. Where was his Padfoot? The wolf wanted to know. His dog had returned to him several moons ago, but here he was in a strange new place and his Padfoot was once again missing.

'_He's gone. He was taken away from us.'_ His human murmured to him. His human sounded sad, very sad.

Dead? His Padfoot was not dead! He could not be forever asleep!

'_I do not know where he is. He could be dead. He was taken from us.'_ His human mourned.

Moony remembered now, his Padfoot had not been there at the last moon, and he had whimpered, whined and howled at his loss for the whole time until he once again receded back into his human's mind. That meant his human must still be taking that poisonous filth for the wolf to feel so disorientated. He bared his teeth at the covering which was saturated with his human's scent.

'_I don't want to hurt our cub.'_ His human's voice resonated within his head, effectively distracting the canine.

Cub? He had…a cub?

'_Prongs' cub.' _

Prongs had a cub with his mate. Prongs and his mate were dead. Prongs' cub was his cub, his and his Padfoot's, but his Padfoot was gone.

He wanted to see his cub, take care of him, protect him.

Moony surveyed the space with distaste, however his sharp eyes easily found the only light source lying at the top the stairs. He ascended them slowly, his pricked ears only taking in the creak of the wood under his form. He pressed his weight against the door and whined when it would not budge.

"Remus?" A human was behind the door. "Moony?" It was the same voice.

'_Pack-mate.'_ His human insisted.

He had a new pack-mate?

Moony whined and scratched at the door; he wanted to see his cub and his new pack-mate.

--.--.--

When the screaming had started, Bill had been so shocked that he had stumbled backwards into the wall and slid to the flooring whilst his hands automatically went to cover his ears. Recovering from his shock, he realised that even though there was no way for the neighbours to hear this, Harry and Neville definitely would, but he wasn't able to cast silencing spells on their rooms without moving from his spot, and Remus had clearly stated that that was not an option.

"Neville! Harry! Don't come into the hallway until you hear the backdoor close!" He hollered up the stairs. He could hear one of the boys frantically move and felt a tiny bit of relief when he heard Neville shout his acknowledgement down. The two teens didn't know silencing spells yet, so this seemed like the best thing to do in Bill's view, he had been in worst situations when he worked in Egypt. Determined not to seem like a coward, Bill forced himself to lower his arms from their position and get up. The only sign of his anxiousness was his tense frame and the wand clenched tightly in his right fist. Remus' cries of pain continued for some time and his voice was becoming worn and hoarse before it became completely distorted and then cut off. A few moments later Bill heard a door open upstairs.

"What did I say, Harry?"

"B-but…"

"In your room. Now." Bill was satisfied when he heard the same door close. He knew Harry was worried, but sometimes the boy had to just sit back and let things run their course.

The red-head turned his attention to the basement door and much to his credit, did not flinch when he heard the faint whining and snarling of Remus' wolf form, Moony. He could hear movement; the stairs creaking as the wolf moved closer to the basement door blocking him from the rest of the house. Bill shifted back uneasily when the wolf could be heard pressing himself against the other side of the thin layer of wood (he noted that without all of the magic, the door would have stood no chance against Moony's strength). There weren't any further assaults on the door so Bill called out: "Remus?"

There was nothing so he tried again, "Moony?"

A brief pause before he heard whining and the sound of claws against wood. Bill knew that Moony wanted out. With _Stupefy_ on the tip of his lips, just in case, Bill reached out towards the bolt on the door.

--.--.--

Moony shrank back as bright light cascaded into his eyes. The sudden change from dark to light caused him to whimper softly as he blinked furiously.

"Moony?" The human voice was much clearer.

'_This is Bill, he is our pack-mate.'_ His human reminded him. Moony studied the man in front of him intently. He was confused. His long upper fur did not match his lower fur and his torso and upper paws were completely absent of fur altogether. Moony slunk forwards, his gaze trained on the human pack-mate. He butted the human back with his nose and watched as he fell backwards. The wolf was not fazed by the sudden movement and continued forward until he was positioned above the still human. He dipped his head to his pack-mates head fur and sniffed at it.

The wolf rumbled approvingly at the scent, it pleased him greatly. The fire-furred human smelt of strength and of dominance. The human was perfect. The human was _his_.

Moony once again dipped his head into his human's head fur and breathed in deeply, committing the odour of the man to memory. Then, Moony sniffed the air, remembering his initial reason for wanting to escape the black, underground space. The wolf could smell only four scents in the air; his human-self's scent, his new pack-mate's scent alongside two other scents belonging to two young humans.

'_Our cub and our other pack-mate.'_

Cub? Moony moved away from his fiery human and moved towards the set of stairs where the scents became fresher and stronger.

"No." The stern voice behind him caused the wolf to stop in his tracks.

Moony turned to find the human ascending to his back paws. The werewolf tilted his head in confusion. No? He wanted to see his cub. Why was he not allowed to see his cub?

"You are not allowed to see Harry or Neville."

What was a Harry? What was a Neville?

'_Harry is our cub and Neville is our pack-mate._'

Moony's ears flattened and his thick fur bristled. He wanted to see his cub! He had to protect him!

"No." His human commanded, "You are not allowed to see Harry or Neville tonight, Moony." The human raised a paw threateningly and Moony saw the anger on his human's face.

Shame and guilt swept through Moony; his human was angry at him for defying his orders. The wolf's ears flattened further as he whimpered. Slowly the human approached him and lowered on his hind legs so that he was eye-level with the canine.

"I'm sorry, Moony." His human said gently. "I can't let you see Harry; it's too dangerous right now." His pack-mate's front paws came to rest on his back and Moony's vision was surrounded by red as his human leaned forward. "I'm so sorry, I know that you need to see your cub, Moony, but not tonight, Remus would never allow it."

The wolf wanted to growl when he heard his own human's name, but suppressed the urge, wanting to stay close to his pack-mate.

He was confused and sad when his human pulled away from him and wanted to reinitiate the contact with him; however his human straightened and began walking away. Thinking that his human was angry at him for testing his commands, Moony followed submissively behind.

--.--.--

When Bill had first been knocked back by Remus - no, Moony - he had cursed himself for being so careless, however when the werewolf loomed over him, all curses and hexes flew out of his head. To put it simply, the werewolf standing above him looked majestic and Bill couldn't help but be a bit shell-shocked as Moony leaned in so close that all the wizard could feel was the warm air against his ears and the soft fur on the brown-furred wolf's underbelly brush against his naked chest as his breathing became shallow. However, when Moony broke away from the disturbingly intimate position (at least in Bill's opinion), he knew exactly where his lupine friend was going.

Bill had figured that the wolf was much more like Remus than the older bloke would like to admit, this thought was reaffirmed when Moony became upset at him for denying him rights to see Harry and Neville. When Moony's fur thickened, Bill thought that he was in trouble, but Remus' wolf sank back, cowed when Bill repeated himself and raised his wand, ready to cast at any given moment if things got ugly. It seemed that not only was Remus' love of Harry shining through the wolf's personality, but so was his somewhat submissive nature.

Bill had knelt in front of Moony, trying to convey the importance of staying away from the teenagers upstairs. He still wasn't certain about how volatile the wolf could be, and Remus would have his hide if anything happened to either Harry or Neville. Besides, they had only just moved here and Bill hadn't even started his job yet, so it was in everyone's best interest if nothing disastrous happened to top their already large pile of problems. So, Bill had tried to soothe Moony and then led him to the kitchen, picking up a thermos of coffee that he had prepared for himself earlier. Unlocking and opening the back door, he made sure that Moony was out fully before he locked it behind them. He turned to find the wolf's yellow gaze trained on him expectantly.

"Go, do whatever you want. Just don't mess around with Neville's flower beds, and if you've got to piss or have a crap, go in the woods." He said running a hand through his hair. He sighed when Moony slumped of towards the woods despondently - Bill thought that he was scenting his territory. _'Geez, I had no idea he'd be so bloody sensitive, maybe I should be more careful with Remus.'_

Bill opened the flask and poured some coffee into the mug. _'Maybe, I should have put a shirt on.'_ He mused, the weather was mild for the night; it was the middle of the summer after all, but the temperature was causing the hair on his arms to prickle uncomfortably. Bill remained leaning against the railing of the porch, sipping absentmindedly of the constantly steaming and refilling beverage in his hand whilst he peered into the darkness, looking for any signs of Moony who had completely disappeared into the woodland that their garden extended into. Eventually, Bill tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans and moved to the lawn before lowering himself to the grass and laying back. He rested his head on his palms and looked at the clear sky, frowning at the constellations mapped above him which were complete strangers to him. After sometime, the last light from the house flickered off and Bill was glad that Harry had finally gone to sleep. Soon, Bill closed his eyes and let his mind wander, making sure he kept his ears peeled - sure enough after quite some time had passed, he could soon hear Moony padding back to him.

Bill tilted his head to find Moony lowered to the ground and staring at him forlornly, head resting on paws and small keening noises coming from the back of his throat.

"Merlin's balls!" Bill scowled. He extended an arm to the wolf. "C'mere, you great sod." Moony graced him with a happy yip before moving so that he was half lying on top of Bill with his head resting on the wizard's chest. Bill closed his eyes again and absentmindedly began scratching and playing with the fur behind the wolf's perked ears. "Y'know, the boys and me are learning how to become animagi so you don't have to be so alone, Moony. I've been doing research for a while - on the whole process - but I still dunno what I am yet. But I bet Har and Neville will catch up in no time. They're smart kids." He yawned and smiled sleepily. "Their parents would be so proud, much better behaved than my brothers and nowhere near as spoilt as Ginny." Moony's body rumbled happily and Bill sighed into the warm that it gave off.

The wizard couldn't help but feel incredibly lethargic where he was laying. The hand sweeping through his friend's fur in lazy and repetitive motions soon stilled as the red-head finally slid into a deep slumber.

--.--.--

Bill slowly woke up to the sound of birdsong which filled the air. He scrubbed at his still closed eyes with his one free arm. He quickly realised that the other was trapped underneath Remus' very human body…Remus' very _naked_ human body. Bill's eyes snapped open with this realisation. He was met by the barely light sky and could tell it was about five-ish in the morning, Remus must have transformed back as soon as the moon went down. Judging by the fact that he himself had not awoken during this process and the werewolf's current relaxed expression, Bill figured that it was somewhat less painful to change from wolf to human than from human to wolf. He made a note in his head to ask about it later.

Bill sighed and scratched his head, thinking about how to get Remus back into the house without embarrassing the man. In their current position, Bill was still lying flat on his back and Remus was half laying on top of him on his side. The older man's head was nestled on his chest and tilted into the crook of his neck, as if to nuzzle it, with one arm slung across his abdomen. Luckily, the werewolf kept his legs to himself, or Bill would have been in trouble.

The way he saw it, he had two options; number one was to somehow stealthily free himself from the other man and carry him into the house and let him sleep in his bed. Number two was to feign sleep himself so that when Remus woke up, he wouldn't realise that Bill had in fact seen him naked and let him sort himself out. However, the main problem with number two was that it would be obvious to Remus that Bill had 'slept on the job' and the red head would be in a heap of trouble. _'I guess that means option number two is already null and void.'_ He thought before he shifted his weight towards Remus and lowered the man's top half onto the dewy grass. He gave Remus a once over, just out of curiosity, and couldn't stop himself from cocking an eyebrow. _'I guess I was right when I thought that he was too self-conscious. Way too self-conscious…Although, with those scars, I guess I can imagine why…'_ And it was true; Remus was a rather handsome man in a quiet and homely 'I wear jumpers that I made myself' kind of way. His body wasn't overly muscular, nor was it skeletal or flabby. It was apparent that despite his outward appearance, the werewolf made sure that he took care of himself - even if he was slightly on the thin side. Bill frowned as amongst all the silvery self-inflicted scars, a large bite mark stood out on the sleeping man's shoulder. _'That must have been where he was bitten as a kid.'_ Bill mused.

With a small grunt of exertion, Bill crouched and pulled Remus into his arms, holding the smaller male across his arms in a bridal style. Straightening up, he was relieved when Remus remained deep asleep and proceeded to make his way into the house. After laying Remus in his bed and pulling the covers on top of him, the red head decided to check on the boys and found Neville sleeping peacefully amongst the many plants in his bedroom whilst in his room, Harry was curled into a tight ball with a frown marring his features even as he slept. Hedwig was perched on the headboard also watching vigilantly as her human slept. As Bill closed the door, he could hear the faint moan of distress emitted from the teen who was labelled as their saviour's lip's.

"Remus…"

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Bill entered his own room, sighing as the dark red created a warmth that encompassed him. He stripped himself, intent on relaxing in bed for a few hours however his gaze was drawn to a pile of letters lying innocently on the bedside table._ 'They must have just arrived.'_ Bill judged from the open window and the haphazard way that the envelopes were strewn across the dark wooden surface. The eldest Weasley son picked up the topmost and felt his stomach sink as he took in the familiar elegant script. He turned it over, his hands beginning to shake, and broke the wax seal. He gently tipped the envelope towards his free hand, and even though the thick parchment remained inside, it did not stop the rest of the contents from spilling into his hand.

Bill threw the thin and delicate silver chain across his room angrily, choking back a sob as the matching ring embedded with sapphires which was strung on the chain followed and hit the door before falling to the floor with a barely audible 'thunk'.

* * *

(1) - I really don't mean to offend anyone reading this. I can't ever claim to understand American culture, being 100% British, so I will probably get things wrong in the future. In Britain's general viewpoint, we see Americans from southern states as being incredibly Christian and quite homophobic. I'm sorry to say that this is the depiction in our media and I hope that nobody is upset by this.

(2) - I seriously couldn't resist. Mr Darcy and Captain Wentworth are both from classic romances by Jane Austen. Mr Darcy is of course from Pride and Prejudice whist Captain Wentworth is from Persuasion. Personally I prefer Persuasion, however, if you don't think you can hack going through a classic (it can be painful) there's a BBC screen adaption of Persuasion starring the gorgeous Rupert Penry Jones and of course there's the film of Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFadyen.

AN2: A major thanks go to several people for their continued support and especially those who continue reading. The next chapter will mainly consist of wrapping up loose-ends before the boys start school. It should be shorter than this chapter, so I hope to have it posted quicker (in theory).

As per usual, any feedback is greatly appreciated and I'll try to reply as much as possible through the reply system on the site - if not, leave your email if you want me to get back to you. You all can catch me on Live Journal under the username bittersweet_mis. I do actually post spoilers or quotes from the chapter towards the end of the writing period, and it's the only place where I state if there's going to be a delay.

I proof-read this chapter myself, but there still may be mistakes, if you spot any, please let me know :)

Edit: Changed 'Mom's the word' to 'Mum's the word' after being told that that was more likely to be heard. "We're not like those Southern States" was changed to"We're not living in the Deep South after being told that the former was more offensive than the latter.


	6. Breaking Off

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, Twilight or any of their respective characters, they belong to JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and the appropriate publishing houses and film studios e.t.c. This is purely a work of fiction

AN: Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with real life stuff and even though this was done a few weeks ago posting was delayed between proof reading and me being distracted. On the other hand, I have set up a poll for additional pairings on my LiveJournal and on my profile page. The poll on my live journal doesn't have the Volturi or Leah options so comment the top post on my journal to count them as a vote. On the Volturi - you'll have to give me specific members through a review/pm as I need to refamiliarise myself with them and the poll would look a bit ridiculous with so many options also, I'm open to the idea of threesomes.

After this week, I'll finally find out which uni I got into so I'll be preparing to leave and might not have that much writing time, but I'll try my best. Wish me luck on my A-level results!

Thanks to SoapieSleeps and Kaikan for their betaing services, they're fab and helped me loads!

* * *

**Breaking Off**

_Breaking off is misery  
I see a wilderness for you and me_

_I'm a Cuckoo - Belle & Sebastian_

_______________________________

Having had a quick shower and gotten dressed, Harry quickly rushed down the stairs, intent on getting a nice breakfast ready for Remus. He was, however, somewhat surprised to find his guardian already sitting at the dining table, nibbling on the corner of some toast slathered with orange marmalade. Remus looked up at him as he entered and gave him a tired smile.

"Hey, how are you?" Harry asked softly.

"I'm alright, I still feel a bit knackered, but good, all things considered."

"That's good." Harry moved over to the toaster and put in two slices of white, not feeling up for anything extravagant. "Nothing bad happened, did it?"

"Not that I recall, no. I'm afraid that my mind's still a bit fuzzy." Remus rubbed his eyes briefly before wiping his mouth with his hand. "What about you?" He inquired after several moments of silence had passed.

"What do you mean?"

"Are _you_ okay? I know that you heard everything when I changed."

Harry's toast popped out of the toaster, and he began spreading a thin layer of butter over each slice. "It was…difficult, or terrifying. I'm not sure. I think that the very idea that you were in that much pain scared me. I'm sure that it would have been worse if I was alone."

"I'm glad that you weren't." Remus replied as the teen slapped marmalade onto the buttered toast.

At that point, Neville came in and stole a slice of Harry's toast. "Oi!"

"Ta." He grinned. "I got our mail earlier, but both your windows were closed. I'll bring it in a bit."

"You want me to make you some breakfast of your own?"

"Nah, this plenty. I'm not that hungry. Alright, Remus?"

"Hmm? I'm good, thanks. Things are still a bit foggy up here though." Remus replied, gesturing towards his own head. He got up and went to the sink.

Harry looked up at the clock and frowned. "Bill should be up by now." He murmured, it was gone ten and they'd all woken up late, some more so than others, but normally, Bill would arrive downstairs only a short time after he himself did. "D'you reckon I should give him a call?"

"Leave him be. He was up all night, remember? Let him have his rest." Remus suggested.

"If you say so…" Just as he finished saying that, Harry flinched as he heard Bill's door slam upstairs before the stairs began creaking under the man's weight. Neville raised his eyebrows at Harry, whilst Remus suddenly found the tiles on the countertop very interesting. Harry busied himself with washing his own plate, now somewhat grateful that Remus hadn't done it himself.

When Bill entered the kitchen (luckily the door was open already), a frown was marring his features, giving off a stony expression.

"Uh, morning, Bill. Did you sleep well?" Neville tried breaking the heavy atmosphere. He failed miserably when he only received a grunt in return, eliciting a frown from Remus. The red head ignored this and began drinking some water he poured from the tap.

"You look tired. Maybe you should go back to bed. You haven't had a lot of sleep, have you?" Harry suggested and asked. He flinched when the glass clutched in Bill's hand was slammed against the work surface, also causing Neville to jump in his seat.

"What are you? My mother?" He sneered nastily in a way that was reminiscent of Malfoy or Dudley. Harry stepped backwards, wide-eyed.

"N-no…" The angry expression on his face caused Harry's stomach to sink. "I-I was just trying to help."

"Well next time, don't." Bill's tone didn't change.

"I-I'm sorry." Harry almost whispered. He looked down at his slippers, wondering what he'd done to make his best mate's brother so pissed off with him. He almost berated himself when he felt his eyes begin to prickle.

Bill stormed out of the room, a scowl fixed on his face. Neville watched him leave with a shocked expression. He turned to Remus and asked, "What in Merlin's name did you do?"

Remus' angry gaze remained trained on the empty doorway that Bill had just exited from. "I have no idea." He said in response to Neville's question. "I'm going to go have a word with him." Pulling Harry into a one-armed hug, he kissed the top of the teen's head. "Don't worry, something must have happened last night. Nothing's your fault, okay?"

Harry nodded. Remus' words were once again soothing his nerves. _'And besides,' _he reasoned with himself, _'Bill was angry while he was upstairs.'_ However, he didn't trust himself to speak - his throat was sore as if he would start crying at any given moment.

"Why don't you boys go let your rabbits out for a bit?" Remus suggested before taking his leave from the kitchen.

--.--.--

Remus found Bill in his bedroom. The twenty-five year old was lying on his bed, throwing a Quaffle up in the air. His hair had become untied and he had unbuttoned his shirt and jeans, as if going back to bed. Remus though it was lucky that his zipper was still done up.

"You mind telling me what happened back there?" Remus said in a conversational tone as he leant against the doorframe.

"It's nothing." Bill replied, sullenness had replaced the anger that was there previously.

"Is that so? I'm thirty-six years old, Bill, and I'm a teacher. I know when I'm being lied to. You really hurt Harry with the way you acted."

Bill stopped playing catch with the Quaffle and left it beside him. He sat up on the edge of his bed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm…sorry." And from what Remus could tell, by the way Bill's features tightened, he was.

"You can tell Harry that. I'm not the one you're meant to be apologising to. Do you want to tell me what got you so upset?"

"Oh, leave off Remus! Don't pretend that we're playing happy family! It's nothing to do with you!"

"I know that you and Neville don't consider us a family yet, but me and Harry do! For God's sake, Bill! After all he's been through, you being upset at him for no reason at all is the last thing he needs. He trusts you!"

"I know that." Bill said, his voice calmer but still tense. He swallowed thickly. "I know that and I apologise for the way I treated him…it's just…something happened, and I need some time alone…to think."

"No."

"No? _Excuse me!_ I'm asking for a bit of privacy and you're _saying 'no'?_ What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not some bloody kid!"

'_And we're back to shouting.'_ Remus thought with exasperation. "'No' as in something must have happened last night so I must be involved." Remus reasoned.

"You must be involved, huh?" Bill snorted derisively. Without any regard towards his present company, he began shrugging out of his shirt carelessly. He threw it across the room and began furiously wrestling himself out of his trousers. Remus averted his gaze until he realised that the younger man was wearing boxers. "Do me a favour Remus; get over yourself."

Remus was surprised when he found his hand swiping out to slap Bill. He was even more surprised when his hand was caught and the redhead wouldn't let go of it. "For fuck's sake, Bill! Stop being so stubborn and tell me what the hell's wrong with you! I'm just trying to help, but I can't do that if you keep throwing it back in my face!" Remus raised his free hand and frantically began scrabbling at Bill's occupied one, trying to free himself from the obviously stronger man's grip. "What the hell? Are you on steroids or something!?!"

Bill pulled Remus' second hand so that he held a wrist in each of his own hands. "First of all, I have no idea what stare-oids are. Next, I've lived on my own since I was nineteen. When shit happens, I deal with it by myself and I'm used to it." It was only then that Remus realised how tall Bill was compared to him. His height was only accented by the intimacy of the position that they were in. Their chests were almost touching and both of them were breathing hard. Remus almost began trembling as Bill towered over him.

"Bill… I'm just worried about you." Remus pleaded softly. "I've never seen you act like this before, it's like you're a completely different person." He allowed himself to relax in Bill's grip.

"I'm sorry, for the things I said." Bill sighed wearily. He lowered Remus' arms and both noticed Bill's state of undress when Remus' fingers brushed lightly against the other's bare hip bone. Whilst Remus blushed lightly, Bill tore himself away from the werewolf's close proximity with a sharp inhale. He quickly put on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a thin white T-shirt.

"It was Fleur…" He began. "I got a letter from her this morning. She said that she's been cheating on me…different blokes." Bill began breathing harshly and Remus saw tears well up in his blue eyes. "But she said…she said that I-I was too high maintenance." Remus felt his own eyes begin to well up at seeing the Weasley's eldest son so emotional. He started rubbing at Bill's arms in a way that he knew would comfort James in the past after problems with Lily (Sirius _never_ got upset after a break up), and took it in stride when Bill released an odd choking sound.

"Oh, Bill…"

"_I_ was high maintenance!?! I gave up time with my family to see her! I turned a blind eye when she insulted my family! I gave that…that…that _bitch_ everything she ever wanted and _I_ was too high maintenance!?! Was it so wrong to want a god-damned monogamous relationship with a fucking woman of all things?"

Bill leaned down and allowed himself to be held by Remus. He wasn't sobbing, instead he was breathing heavily as he allowed hot tears to stream down his cheeks. "Ssh, it's okay, Bill. It's okay, you're fine." Remus soothed.

"There must be something wrong with me," Bill muttered harshly. "I've had plenty of flings, but the one girl I'm serious about…"

"Treats you like dirt. Trust me, I've been there. And there's nothing wrong with you, understand?" Remus said fiercely.

The two men stayed like that for several minutes, one comforting the other until the elder of the two pulled away, clicking a few joints in the process.

"I-I should go downstairs." Remus breathed heavily. "I need to talk to Severus." He searched Bill's face, wondering if he was okay now. "If you want, you can go back to bed for a bit and I'll bring you up some hot chocolate or something…"

"I was going to go running - let off some steam, but that sounds better."

Remus nodded and Bill moved back to his bed, picking up and folding his clothes before setting them on a reading chair. "I'll call Severus, then I'll be up with a drink and some food, okay?" He informed the heartbroken man before making his way out of the warm room. He stepped back when his toes got caught on something in the carpet. He bent down and retrieved a silver ring with sapphires and diamonds hanging on a sliver chain.

"Err, what do you want me to do with this?" He asked dangling the engagement ring from its chain off a finger.

"Sell it when we go to White Avenue next. I don't want to see it again."

"Okay." The werewolf tucked the trinket absentmindedly into his breast pocket.

"Hey, Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

--.--.--

Later on, after he had floo called Severus (who would be arriving sometime after lunch), Remus was putting a sausage sandwich on a plate with a glass of apple juice on the side when his head began to throb painfully.

"Shit!" he swore, reflexively bringing a hand to his forehead. He braced himself against the counter with his other arm as he felt his head begin to swim. He had wondered earlier why he hadn't yet recalled last night's events; normally he was fine after an hour, max. But, it had been at least three hours since he had woken up…maybe it was because he had been distracted by Bill? Either way, to Remus, it didn't matter anymore as a dam broke in his mind and images came unbidden to the front of his mind.

_Darkness…darkness covered in the stench of humans._

_Cold, hard cement._

_Loneliness pressing in on him, suffocating him._

_He had to see his cub and protect him…protect him from those who had stolen away the rest of their pack._

_Light and fur the colour of fire… The human laid out under him was his._

_Harry, cub…had to see his cub._

_Guilt and submission…he had to submit to his dominant…shouldn't have defied him._

_Resignation as his human ordered him away…then, curiosity as he breathed in the scents of the wildlife around him…flowers and plant which were oh so foreign to him._

_Shame as his human lay on the ground ignoring him._

_A need for attention from his human. Whining…satisfaction as his human looked at him in shock then pure happiness as a paw was stretched towards him, an open invitation._

_Relaxation as his human petted his head and promised him that the rest of the pack would join them in the future._

_Contentment as he lay on top of his human, watching over it protectively as it slept._

Remus gasped and wheezed as he was suddenly brought back into the present. His human heart was pounding inside his chest where his hand had moved to, almost as if the blood-pumping muscle would escape at any given moment. He breathed slowly and deeply, trying to ground himself. He could hear Neville call and ask if he was okay.

"I'm fine" he replied back, aware of the shakiness in his own voice. He straightened out his shirt collar which had become mussed up and placed Bill's food on a tray before taking it upstairs. He knocked on Bill's door and announced his presence before miraculously opening the door with his elbow and not spilling any of his cargo.

Bill was lying on his side in his bed, facing the room. Judging from the lack of movement at his presence, the Marauder figured that his friend was sleeping, so he set the tray on the nightstand, shifting the alarm clock and lamp to accommodate its presence. Against his better judgement (which was to leave the room straight away), Remus knelt by the bed and examined the sleeping man's visage and took in the streaks from dried tears and the way the skin had reddened around his eye area.

'_Poor bloke.'_ He couldn't help but think. He didn't understand how anyone could possibly betray the curse-breaker like that; he was so kind-hearted and had an amazing personality. '_He must have really loved her…_'

"Remuh?" The werewolf started when Bill opened his eyes blearily. "Whazzamatter?"

"Nothing." He smiled softly. "Just picking up some money that fell out of my pocket." He lied. "How are you feeling?" He brushed some of Bill's hair away, getting a closer look at him.

"S'okay…still hurts though - inside." The younger of the two murmured as he burrowed further under his duvet.

"I know it does…but it's not the end of the world, worse things have and could have happened. Fleur's not the only woman out there."

An unreadable look passed over Bill's face and there was a moment of silence before he looked over at the bedside table curiously. "Whazzat?"

"Sausage sarnie and some juice. They've got charms on them if you want to sleep a bit more. You've got an hour and a half until Severus arrives." Remus got up, intent on leaving.

"'Ats good." Bill breathed sleepily into his pillow. "Shoulda asked you to marry me instead. You'd be my lovely housewife." He mumbled before the sound of quiet snoring filled the room.

As he heard this, Remus' first instinct was to tip the tray of food over the other man. Instead, the fact that Bill was heartbroken and quite obviously didn't know what he was saying, made him walk out of the room without a fuss. He did however, pause in the doorway and survey the room before brandishing his wand. "_Accio_ alcohol." The werewolf's suspicions were confirmed when an empty bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey flew into his hand. He sighed and summoned a hangover remedy from the bathroom and levitated it over to the tray.

)(0)(

Harry's gaze flickered between his piece of paper, his calculator and Neville's work. "This is…odd." He said as he looked at the mismatched answers.

"Did you get it wrong, or did I?" Neville asked, scratching the top of his head in bafflement.

Harry flicked through the Algebra exercise book until he found a specific page in the answers section. "Let's see…Chapter Six, exercise thirteen…Aha! Here we go." His emeralds eyes were focused intently on the small printed text from behind his old glasses. "I hate to say it Nev, but we both did."

"You forgot to carry the two, Harry." Bill said from over Harry's shoulder, grinning when both teens jumped at his presence.

"Bill! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Bill winked, leaning over the back of the sofa. "Look, I'm sorry about this morning. I was in a rotten mood, what with Fleur…" He apologised.

"Yeah, Remus told us." Neville informed the red head whilst scribbling furiously over his equations.

"It's okay, I forgive you. I've had worse I guess." Harry smiled uncertainly whilst Bill winced at the admission.

"Where's Remus? I should apologise to him too. I said some rotten things to him earlier."

"I think he's in the lounge doing some cleaning. Snape's meant to be coming soon." Harry wrinkled his nose, showing Bill and Neville _exactly_ what he thought of that.

Neville blanched slightly. "I think I'd rather do this, it's bad, but not as evil as Snape." He said, gesturing toward his workings.

"You added the last step instead of multiplying." Bill pointed out.

"Eh?" There was the sound of Neville tapping on the calculator before he grinned. "Hey, you're right!"

"I got an O in Arithmancy in NEWTs." Bill grinned, purposefully puffing out his chest in pride.

'_Maybe I should have listened to 'Mione in Third year.'_ Harry thought wryly. '_Then this wouldn't be so hard.'_ "I've decided that your brother is a bad influence." He said to Bill.

"Fred or George?"

"Ron." Harry replied causing Bill to quirk an eyebrow. "I was going to do Arithmancy with Hermione, but he convinced me not to."

"Well, I guess he's no angel, but he's no Fred 'n George either. If you had them as your best mates, you'd be totally screwed."

"We'd probably be dead from a heart attack…either that or we'd be constantly subjected to Canary Creams." Neville shoved his work away with a frown just as Remus entered the room flustered, his hair all about the place.

"Severus is here and he's brought…a…guest."

Harry raised his eyebrows as Remus ushered them out of the room with shooing motions. He let his wand fall into his hand, suddenly overcome with a bad feeling in his stomach. He was listening to Bill thanking Remus for a hangover potion when the elder man's words died on his lips, confusing Harry. He looked up and understood what had shocked Bill so much. In the lounge, looking as ominous as ever, stood Severus Snape, however it was his companion who was looking at the television and the photographs with a mixture of disdain and curiosity (if that was at all possible) that had Harry glad that he had his wand in his hand.

Severus Snape had brought Lucius Malfoy, of all people, into their home.

That _prat._

At their arrival, Malfoy Senior turned so that he was facing them fully and quirked an eyebrow when he found that there were three wands pointed at his person. "I can assure you that that is _not_ necessary." The part-Veela remarked haughtily.

"Wands away boys." Remus said quietly.

"B-but he…I mean - Siri!" Harry floundered, unsure of what was going on and feeling quite helpless.

"I trust Severus' judgement. Now wands away, you too, Bill." Remus' tone left no room for argument and they reluctantly tucked their wands away. However, Harry kept his up his sleeve. Even if Remus trusted Snape, he sure as hell didn't.

"I mean no harm." Malfoy said by way of assurance, as if it would help. He sat down on one of the chairs that Remus conjured up. The werewolf and two teens moved to sit on the squishy cream sofa whilst Bill sat on the arm by Harry, an arm slung casually over the back. As a peace offering, the blonde placed his cane which hid his wand on the coffee table.

"I'm assuming that since you have bought him here, you wished to discuss Voldemort. Am I right Severus?" Remus inquired bluntly, gesturing his head towards Malfoy, ignoring the flinches and twitches coming from some of the room's occupants.

"That is correct. My belief is that in order to understand how dangerous a man Dumbledore is, you need to understand the Dark Lord's past." Snape replied leaning forward in his seat. "I shall tell you as much as I can, if you will permit me." Harry felt himself tense when Snape called Voldemort 'the Dark Lord'. Only his followers did that. He was soothed when Bill cast him a worried look and began playing with his hair.

"We're listening." Remus said, his tone was that of interest and his expression seemed to be free of judgement towards their guests.

"Well, I guess the best place to start would be at the beginning, before I even began Hogwarts," Snape said. "You must understand that my childhood was by no means happy. My mother was a witch, and my father resented her for it. To be frank, he took his anger out on me. Either way, it was no surprise that when I learnt of my own magic, I also learnt every single curse and defensive spell that I could, should I ever need them. Then a few years before Hogwarts, I met your mother and aunt in a park in our neighbourhood."

Harry looked up from his hands at this piece of information; he was surprised and confused by Snape's words. Nobody had ever told him that his mum knew Snape before Hogwarts, but then again, he honestly couldn't say that he knew that much about his parents anyway. The young Gryffindor continued to listen as Snape's gaze bore into his.

"The first time I saw Lily, she was performing accidental magic. She flew off a set of swings and landed safely. I told her that she was a witch, and we became friends quickly after that. However, our backgrounds and personalities caused us to be sorted into different houses, but despite this, we both managed to maintain our friendship for quite some time. Unfortunately, not only was I being bullied by several students in the school," here, Remus winced, "But the majority of my housemates were pureblood supremacists. I had to keep my own heritage a secret or risk exile from my own house. Whilst I became more and more immersed in my studies, trying to keep my head down, I began to fall in love with Lily. It was…inevitable. She seemed at that point to be the only light in my life. However, my skills with potions and spell work had also caused me to gain the attention of a political organisation.

"I say political organisation as that was what Tom Riddle - Voldemort's aim was back then. He was fighting for equality among the different races and breeds of the members of Wizarding Britain. Unlike other magical communities, ours was isolated and firmly set in its ways. There is still discrimination and corruption in the ranks today. Voldemort's party was not taken seriously and was being smeared as a terrorist organisation that was based on blood purity. Anyway, I immersed myself into politics and ended up isolating myself unintentionally from Lily. Then when she confronted me, she accused me of becoming a Death Eater. I became angry that she bought into all of that propaganda, and I insulted her in the worst possible way that I could imagine."

"You called her a Mudblood." Remus said slowly, in remembrance of events that happened over twenty years ago.

"It was foolish of me. She refused to speak to me afterwards, and I was still in love with her. Heartbroken, I buried myself in my studies, both academic and extracurricular until I managed to garner the attention of our leader himself. After spending quite some time together, we entered a relationship together."

Right then, Harry was glad that he wasn't drinking anything because he would have most certainly sprayed it all over Lucius' robes. As it happened, Bill appeared to be choking on air and Neville's legs began to twitch, as if getting ready to scarper at any given moment. Harry wasn't sure if it was the lighting, but Remus looked rather pale.

Bill released a rather painful-sounding wheezing cough and inhaled deeply, getting his breath back. "Wait a sec, by 'relationship', do you mean that you and You-Know…V-voldemort were doing the horizontal mambo?"

"Horizontal mambo?" Remus asked, amused.

"What would you have preferred? Shagging, screwing about, sexing it up? There's also fornicating, copulating - I don't think that procreating applies here - making love, the beast with two backs or everybody's favourite; fu-mmph!" Malfoy and Snape weren't the only ones who looked relieved as Remus reached up and clamped one of his hands firmly over Bill's runaway mouth. As Harry felt his own face flush in mortification he thought that Neville had never done as good an impression of Ron as he was doing now.

"Forgive him," Remus laughed nervously. "He _is_ related to Charlie Weasley after all." Harry met his friend's confused blink with one of his own. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"Fair enough." Malfoy's lips twitched briefly and Harry supposed that it was his version of a shrug (as if the aristocrat would be caught doing something so _plebeian_).

"Oi! That's my brother you're all talking about!" Bill exclaimed once the werewolf withdrew his hand. He had an affronted expression and huffed as he leaned back.

"Your point being?" Snape sneered.

"Well, I…uh…"

"Look," Remus interrupted, "we're getting off topic here. The thing I want to know is how Tom Riddle slash Voldemort changed from an idealist politician to the insane psychopath who we all know and tend to steer clear of."

"And who exactly started this smear campaign against Riddle?" Harry guessed that Bill found it easier to use Voldemort's real name rather than his alias.

"I-I don't think you really need to ask that." Neville said, speaking up for the first time. The nervousness at being amongst two of the most formidable Slytherins showed from the way he worried the hem of his jumper with his fingers and the way his posture was slightly curled in a defensive manner.

"Albus Dumbledore has always been a very influential man and he knows the right people and how to play them. Certain comments dropped at the right time and in the right place can sometimes prove to be more effective than the most powerful _sonorous_ charm. The old man has always had his toes dipped in various ministry organisations, not excluding the Daily Prophet and the wireless network." Malfoy straightened the cuffs of his shirt and admired his rings, not looking up as he spoke.

"What happened to Tom, how did he become Voldemort?" Harry was the one to redirect the conversation to Remus' previous and very important question.

"Well," Snape began, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "all of the earlier raids were performed by groups of pureblood activists. They were dubbed by the media as Death Eaters and after several members of Riddle's opposition were killed by them, they were immediately associated with him."

"What about the murders? He killed Moaning Myrtle at Hogwarts." Harry pointed out. "And he called himself Lord Voldemort way back then."

"That is true. From what I've been told, Riddle could have been considered popular and was definitely enigmatic. However he was also a bit disjointed from his peers. I would have to say that he was more than likely subjected to a lot of suggestions from Dumbledore." Lucius explained.

"Dumbledore was the Transfiguration teacher back then. He took a lot of interest in Riddle." Harry murmured, recalling the time he had spent in the wizard's old diary.

"To be honest, Riddle _was _a lonely boy; he was an orphan I think. I think that once Riddle realised that he was changing, thanks to Dumbledore, he tried to reform and that was how the political party was formed. Probably a way to repent. As for the name Voldemort, that may have once been a nickname of sorts during Hogwarts, but later on it became a pseudonym for protection and at the same time, to gain attention. It sounds different and unusual compared to Tom Riddle, does it not?" Snape said this whilst Malfoy was frowning in thought.

"So Voldemort was murderous when he was younger, then reformed and then de-reformed?" Remus asked, running a hand briefly through his hair. "What did Dumbledore do? I'm assuming that at this point there's no point in asking 'who' anymore."

"I'm not too sure myself. One day we were discussing a viable way to mass-market blood supplements for vampires and the next day there were Death Eaters milling about the place, in the process of receiving the Dark Mark from Voldemort. I received a _Crucio_ for questioning him. It was like a switch had been turned and he was a completely different person. Our relationship ended rather quickly, especially when Bellatrix began to have access to his private quarters - she was one of the activists then, quite high in the ranks. I think you all know the rest." Snape spoke of Lestrange with a lot of distaste. "Most of us who were loyal to Voldemort and not the Dark Lord he became, stayed and took the Dark Mark. Others who questioned him further or were too afraid of the monster that resided within the man were murdered by the Death Eaters."

"Do you think that this has something to do with Grindelwald? I know Dumbledore defeated him, but there are rumours that they knew each other when they were younger. And, it does seem odd that Dumbledore was shaping Riddle into the next Dark Lord whilst Grindelwald was still in power." Remus asked.

"Maybe this has all been for 'The Greater Good'." Malfoy pondered, quoting Grindelwald himself. "Mr. Potter, how did you know of Dumbledore's interest in the teenage Riddle?"

"From the diary. The one that possessed Ginny which _you_ gave her." Harry said accusingly.

"I was merely following orders." Malfoy defended himself. "I knew it was a dark artefact, but I had no idea of its purpose." It was a prompt for Harry to explain.

"Well, when I had hold of it, the pages were blank and when you wrote in it, the ink was absorbed and it replied. The diary was sentient, and it pulled me into a memory, like a pensieve, but not, and it used that memory to try and convince me that Hagrid was the one who had something to do with the petrifications. Tom Riddle said he was a memory, but I'm not sure how that would work… He did tell me though, that in order for him to be…reborn, I guess…Ginny had to die."

Malfoy and Snape shared a calculating look. "You got rid of the…memory, didn't you? How?" Malfoy asked.

"I stabbed the diary with the basilisk's fang, the one it bit me with." Harry said, oblivious to the shocked looks he was receiving from Bill and Remus. "Is something the matter?"

"I wonder…" Snape trailed off, deep in thought.

"It is possible…"

"What is it?" Bill asked, a bit annoyed at the two wizards who seemed to be in their own little world.

"It's nothing, I have a hunch, but that's it." Malfoy stated dismissively. Both of the Death Eaters stood to leave and Malfoy reclaimed his cane.

"We need to leave. The information that you have given us, Potter, is beyond being invaluable."

"It is?"

Malfoy nodded. "If that diary was what I think it was, then we may have found a way to restore Voldemort to a point before his insanity began."

"You both look troubled by it." Remus observed.

"I suppose that we both are." Snape replied somewhat softly. "Since my relationship with Voldemort soured, I have pursued and have been pursued by other people." Once again the Slytherins shared a look and Malfoy's lips once again twitched.

Harry _never_ wanted to think about Snape being 'pursued' again. (Least of all by Malfoy.) And besides, what could you say to that? Even Remus had no idea, going by the way he awkwardly thrust his hand towards the fireplace and mumbled that the Floo Powder was on the mantelpiece.

With a nod of his head and a smirk playing on his lips, Malfoy disappeared into green flames. Snape however, lingered behind. "I will come by every Thursday and Sunday at precisely seven o'clock in the evening my time, 1 o'clock here, and I shall stay for exactly two hours. You will be given a reading list and you _will_ learn Occlumency by the time September the first arrives. You will meditate for at least an hour a day starting tomorrow and there will be hell to pay if you do not. Do I make myself clear?" Even Bill nodded quickly as Snape adopted his classroom persona and spoke in his ominous tone. He then turned to Remus and said, "I shall give you a list of people I deem suitable to teach Potions on Sunday."

"Thanks." Remus smiled, watching as the Potions Master followed Malfoy through to Malfoy Manor.

One the flames waned, Neville spoke up. "Well that was…informative…and surreal."

"I think I need to _Scourgify_ my brain." Bill moaned pathetically.

"Don't be mean," Remus chastised him before turning to Harry with his hands on his hips.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me, young man! A basilisk!" The werewolf exclaimed. "You are going to tell me _everything_!"

'_Oh crap!'_ Harry mentally groaned before he settled himself to tell Remus of his exploits.

)(0)(

Remus stepped out of the fire and dusted himself off. Humming, he moved to the kitchen when Harry was just spooning stew into bowls, Bill was leaning against the counter whilst drinking what smelt like coffee and Neville was examining a book of recipes.

"Just in time." Bill grinned.

"It smells good." Remus complemented whilst he ruffled Harry's hair. The teenager grinned in return as Remus grabbed a piece of folded parchment on the side and chucked it in the bin.

"Don't you need that? It's Snape's list, isn't it?" Bill asked. He began placing cutlery on the small table they preferred to the one in the dining room.

"Nope." The teacher allowed himself to grin.

Neville got up and put the book away on the side. "Did you find someone to teach us Potions already?"

"Yep - for free even."

"Well, who? Do I know 'em?" Bill asked, "This is delicious." He said to Harry who was tugging off his apron as he sat down.

"You do, quite well really. They're still in the starting phases of running their own shop, but they said they'll start around about September."

"Who are you talking about? I don't know anyone who-" Bill cut himself off as a look of dawning realisation crossed his face. "No."

"Yes! They were top on Severus' list - though I do think it's because they're trustworthy more than anything." Remus laughed at his friend's expression.

Harry turned to Neville, "Okay, I'm lost."

"Yeah, me too." Both teens turned to Remus.

"Well, to make the things that they do, Fred and George must be good at making potions. They could probably help with other subjects too."

Neville and Harry turned to each other. Fred and George Weasley were going to teach them Potions (and possibly more). There was only one word that could possible describe it. "Brilliant!"

Meanwhile, Bill was trying to stop himself from thinking '_We're doomed.'_ and, _'Our house is going to die.'_ over and over. Needless to say, he was failing.

)(0)(

_Flashback - (AN: This is before Remus' first day at work)_

It was a few days since the newly dubbed Mondstrahls had moved into their house alongside one Bill Weasley. They were sitting in the living room, as Remus and Bill were watching the news. Harry, who was sat at Bill's feet, was knitting a glove with Hedwig perched on his shoulders whilst Neville read America's national wizarding newspaper, the _Weekly Oracle_. Harry had just finished the little finger of his glove when the fireplace lit itself and flared green, causing Hedwig to hoot loudly and fly out of the room, startled. Both Harry and Neville almost jumped out of their skins when the adults tugged them to their feet and sent them crashing to the floor behind the sofa as soon as the word 'Hogwarts' was formed in the flames. Harry tensed whilst Neville rubbed at his carpet burns as the sound of someone stepping through the fireplace could be heard.

"Minerva!" Remus exclaimed, relieved, whilst Bill breathed out "Professor McGonagall," as a respectful greeting.

"Oh, Remus! Thank goodness you're here!" The woman said hastily in her thick Scottish accent.

"What is it?"

"Where are the boys?" Minerva asked, raising an eyebrow when Neville and Harry clambered to their feet.

"Hi, Professor." They chorused.

"I'm sorry, Potter, Longbottom, but there's simply no time for pleasantries. You must leave, quickly. Albus is on his way to talk to Remus and Bill about your little disappearing act."

"How long till he arrives?" Bill asked.

"Ten minutes, maximum."

"Okay, let me think…Bill, why don't you go upstairs and put glamours on the boys' rooms, just in case Albus decides to poke around, then can you put the rabbit hutches in the garden. Harry, you can get Hedwig to fly around for a bit and Neville, can you put away anything that gives away your presence downstairs? When you're done Harry, help Neville. Then both of you can walk around for a bit, maybe do our grocery shopping and I'll ring you as soon as Albus leaves." Remus frowned, pacing as he listed off their tasks.

Thanks to the wonders of actually being able to use magic, once Harry had ushered Hedwig out of his bedroom window, he helped Bill out by levitating his hutch downstairs whilst carrying Mr. Darcy and the Captain in their carrier. After he put them back in the hutch, piling in some celery and dandelion leaves, he met Neville in the entrance hall and grabbed his jacket and bag, making sure to pocket his mobile phone. They both bid their Transfiguration professor goodbye and as she stepped back into the flames, Remus handed them some cash and a shopping list before ushering them out of the door. It was just in time for as soon as they were on the pavement, Harry and Neville spied the Floo flaring up again. Ducking quickly to avoid being seen through the front window, the two Gryffindors trudged up the street towards the main part of town.

"Do you want to wander about then go to the shops?" Neville asked, looking at the list Remus had given them. "There's not much on here, but I don't want to be carrying it everywhere if Dumbledore takes his time."

"That sounds good." Harry agreed with a nod of his head. "Man, what a mess this is." He sighed.

"Yeah."

--.--.--

Rosalie grimaced as Esme asked her to go to the shops to pick up some food for 'dinner'. She didn't get it personally; they were vampires, there was no point whatsoever to them eating human food, it held no nutrition for them and as such, served no purpose. But every now and then, they would go out as a family to a restaurant, pretending to be celebrating something or other, and they would actually eat the food served to them. Esme in particular enjoyed these times because she said it broke the monotony of both life and blood; claiming that it was nice to taste something different. Maybe that was Esme's power, Rosalie had thought before, to actually appreciate the trash that human's ate. However, she was soon proven wrong as one by one, the rest of their family learnt to appreciate the motherly woman's point of view until only herself and Edward remained. Her brother just remained indifferent, but would eat the food with a smile, if only to please Esme, but Rosalie always protested at some point or another, for the sheer fact that it was completely pointless and laughable.

Rosalie plucked the list from Esme's hand and gave her a strained smile, showing her reluctance towards eating a human meal. "Consider this a punishment for throwing that vase at Edward's head last week." Esme frowned.

"Fine." The tall blonde huffed before finding Emmett lazily going over a discarded fashion magazine. He was lying on their bed on his stomach, but looked up when she began tapping her feet impatiently.

"Sorry babe." He tossed the magazine to the side and gracefully got to his feet. "We'll take the jeep." He said, having heard the conversation already. Exiting their bedroom, the couple ran into Jasper and Edward on the stairs.

"Shut up!" Rosalie scowled, purposefully brushing past Edward when she saw that infuriating smirk which was almost always present when the brooding vampire looked her way.

"I didn't _say_ anything, Rose." He said silkily.

"Do you actually want me throw more shit at you?" Rose asked, feeling that smirk bore into the back of her skull.

"And upset Esme?" The copper-haired bastard asked rhetorically. "I think not."

Rosalie was about to retort when Jasper sent waves of calmness flow into her, relaxing her muscles and straightening her worried brow. "Jasper, don't do that." She protested at her brother who posed as her twin, wanting to keep her anger for herself. His lips too had been twisted into a smirk and as Emmett tugged her towards his car and began driving, she couldn't help but feel saddened by the fact that pretty much everyone in her family seemed to be against her, one way or another.

At a set of traffic lights, Emmett rubbed her back soothingly and Rosalie tilted her head towards him and pecked his cheek.

"I'm fine now."

Emmett beamed at the pretty much public display of affection and it was that look alone that made Rosalie thing that putting up with Edward was well worth it.

--.--.--

Neville happily munched the last of his ice cream cone, his taste buds easily separating the taste of strawberry from the taste of waffle, beside him, Harry was still licking at his mint ice cream at a more sedate pace, clearly savouring the flavour (so much so that slightly elder of the two had to wonder whether this was the first time that Harry had had a mint flavoured ice cream). They had spent an hour wandering about the town centre quite slowly before they had decided to stop for ice cream; even though it wasn't sunny, it was still fairly hot and quite humid.

"C'mon, D-Dumbledore can't take too long; I think Remus will be texting or ringing us soon." Neville said as he stood from the wooden bench that they were both sat on. Harry nodded, still lapping at his treat and followed the other boy. After a twenty minute walk, the two teens found themselves entering a supermarket that they had both spied earlier. Harry grabbed a trolley with a wonky wheel from the parking area and steered it towards the automatic doors. Both teens sighed happily as the air conditioning hit them and began walking up and down the many aisles. After sometime, Neville started noticed the stares that they were receiving from the other patrons. It was the first time that either of them had gone out in public since they had gone shopping the first time round. For once, the brunette hoped that this was because they were untrustworthy youths as opposed to the newest citizens in town. If this was the reaction they got in a shop, imagine what would happen when they started school where there were more than likely ten times as many people!

Neville snapped out of his self-conscious reverie when Harry turned to him and asked if he could go get the dairy and breakfast items whilst he stayed and sorted out the fruit and vegetables.

"Sure, I'll meet you back here."

"Okay." Harry smiled reassuringly. "I'll wait over there." He said pointing to the basket at the end of the fruit part of the wide set aisle where several baskets of large watermelons were set.

Neville wandered off to get his assigned items, once he'd gotten the milk and cheese, he realised that the cereals were to the back of the store where the bread also was. Sighing, he made his way there, apologising as he almost bumped into a couple rounding the corner. The blond woman looked disgruntled whilst the rather large looking bloke laughed and waved his hand dismissively, saying that it was no problem. Neville apologised again and continued in search for some muesli.

--.--.--

Rosalie grimaced as the brunette boy left, still stuttering his apologies, beside her, Emmett stood, looking back at the retreating figure with a wide grin on his face.

"What?" She asked looking up at her husband.

"Nothin'" He replied with a shrug. "I haven't seen him around here before."

Rosalie quirked an eyebrow impatiently. "So what? Can we just hurry up and get the vegetables and some fruit for dessert? I want to be out of here as soon as possible!"

"Take it easy babe; don't let Edward get to you." Emmett pressed his hand gently against her back so that she moved with him towards the area where fruit and vegetables were usually kept.

"What makes think I'm annoyed by Edward?" The female of the two asked.

"It's _always_ Edward." Emmett stressed. "I know he can be a dick sometimes," he continued, ignoring his wife's incredulous snort. "But, you _do_ antagonise him sometimes." The male vampire cringed as soon as he said that, knowing it was completely the wrong thing to say. He was rewarded by the clacking sound of Rosalie's shoes against linoleum as she stormed off.

--.--.--

Harry smiled happily as he ticked 'courgettes' of the list and started looking for the last item he'd be able to find in that aisle; grapes. He groaned as soon as he saw the green grapes that they all preferred over red ones. So far, he had managed to avoid all of the overhead baskets, knowing he was too short to reach them, but some git had decided to stack all of the green grapes above the red ones. Resigning himself, Harry made his way over to them, making sure to keep the trolley steady. When he got to the baskets, he snuck himself one of the red grapes and grimaced; it was far too sweet. He stood on his tip-toes and managed to stretch enough to brush the top of the top basket with his fingers. In the background, he could vaguely hear a couple quietly argue and hoped that Neville would return soon. Compared to his own five foot two height, Neville seemed a hell of a lot taller than him, even though Harry knew he was just slightly above average height.

After some time, Harry grew impatient and stepped on the ledge that ran in front of the bottom containers. Stretching, Harry grinned to himself as he was actually able to reach into the basket. Unfortunately, some of the fruit in the topmost bunches were beginning to over ripen so he had to dig deeper. Harry has grabbed the handles of a decent looking bag of grapes when a blond woman brusquely brushed past him, causing him to lose his balance. The young wizard was saved from the utter humiliation of falling into a basket of fruit when two large, cold arms wrapped themselves around his midriff and picked him up before setting him down on solid ground.

"Easy there, short stuff." His saviour chuckled with a booming voice.

Still holding up the grapes, Harry stared at the monolith of a man before him in a daze.

"Yo! Are you in there, half pint?"

"Emmett! What on _earth_ are you doing?" The blonde woman who had brushed past Harry joined the brunette, holding a bag of potatoes in her well manicured hands.

"I think I broke him." The bloke who Harry now knew as Emmett said humorously, gesturing towards him.

Snapping out of his shock, Harry huffed at the other man's comments. "I am NOT short!" he scowled indignantly.

Emmett's grin grew wider. "Sure you aren't, titch."

Harry was about to retort when he heard his name being called, he wheeled around to find Neville making his way towards them with a relieved expression on his face. His arms were laden with food items which Harry helped him load into the cart.

"Hi again," Emmett greeted him. "We ran into each other earlier, I'm Emmett, and this is my girlfriend, Rosalie." The woman he gestured to nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hey."

"Oh, um, hello." Neville said, unsettled by the conversation starter. "I'm Neville, and this is Harry; we've just moved here from Britain."

"Cool, well, we should get going, Mom's expecting us. But I guess we'll be seeing you and Neville around school."

"You're still in school?" Neville asked, shocked. The couple looked like they should be in university at least.

"Yes, we'll be seniors in September." Rosalie said, examining the tips of her hair.

"What about you two? You look like you're in your last years of middle school, Harry." Emmett questioned, unknowingly causing the growing indignant expression on the black-haired teen's face.

"Actually," Neville laughed sheepishly, "me and Harry are the same age. We just turned sixteen a few days ago. We'll both be entering school as juniors - it is junior, right Harry?"

Harry's glare intensified towards Emmett who didn't look one bit apologetic. In fact, Harry swore his grin grew even wider.

"Y-you know what?" Neville began. "We should really be going now. Bill's expecting us soon and we still have lots to get! C'mon Harry!" Neville speech became nervous and hurried as he tugged Harry along with him and out of the aisle.

Harry himself winced as Emmett's booming laughter followed their exit.

)(0)(

To the Monstrahl family,

I hope you have settled down well in America, Forks is a location which I find is reminiscent of the UK. Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that a letter recently arrived addressed to you with several tracking charms from Albus Dumbledore. I have ordered my own personal Aurors to intercept any and all letters from that man and remove them. Whatever that man has planned cannot be good. Unfortunately, he still has the favour of the British public and his position is protected by their laws. We cannot fully prosecute him as there is simply not enough evidence.

Wishing you all well,

Allan Sinclair

--.--.--

My dear Harry,

I hope this letter finds you well, but I implore you to please see reason and return to England and Grimmauld Place immediately. I know you are upset over the death of Sirius Black, but that is no reason whatsoever to be reckless.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

--.--.--

Lupin -

The Headmaster has asked me on multiple occasions to provide him with _Veritaserum_. I believe his intentions are to use it on Petunia Dursley and others who may also know of Potter's whereabouts. As such, I have provided him with a false batch. If I were you, I would prepare for a visit from him shortly.

S. Snape

--.--.--

Dear Remus and Bill,

I am not sure if you have been informed, but shortly after you left for your new place of residence, it was discovered the Messrs Potter and Longbottom had not returned from their visit to Petunia Dursley's abode. This news is indeed regretful and I can assure you that the Order's most important objective is to find Mr. Potter and bring him back to Grimmauld Place.

Unfortunately, the strangest thing occurred. I looked up Harry's records in the Ministry, and the only information I could procure was that Mrs. Dursley is no longer his sole guardian, and his new guardians are both anonymous. I also discovered that Mr. Potter was successful in being taken off of the Hogwarts Register and is in immigration. Regrettably, the Unspeakables have refused to give out any further information. It is therefore my belief that Harry may soon be in contact with you. When he does send you a message, you must inform me as soon as possible, and if he visits you, you must keep his position for as long as possible. I shall be visiting you soon to discuss this further.

From Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

--.--.--

Headmaster Dumbledore,

I regret to inform you that I shall never be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry again. I do not appreciate you trying to initiate a correspondence with me either. Expect this to be the last time you hear from me.

Boy who is gladly studying abroad,

Harry James Potter

--.--.--

Albus,

Neither Bill nor I have heard from either Neville or Harry. Are you sure that they have left the country? However, I know both of my former students well and am confident that neither of them would do something so brash without good reason.

R.J. Lupin

--.--.--

Harry –

I know we're not meant to be sending you mail, but 'Mione found this charm so that only the people we want to can read what we write. I had to get Shacklebolt to put the spell on this; I can't wait until I'm seventeen.

How's America? I hope you've settled in alright, wherever it is you are mate. When everyone found out you left, things went a bit mental. I think Mum's had a bit of a breakdown. She made six cakes yesterday, six! She can't stop cooking! Dumbledore's been having loads of meetings lately, at least two a day, and he keeps trying to ask me and 'Mione questions about where you are. We just said that we didn't know. I think so far only the Order knows that you and Neville are gone.

McGonagall's been acting weird too; she keeps avoiding Dumbledore and hanging out with Snape, that git. Though, I can't say that I blame her. After what he's done, you gotta admit, the headmaster is turning out to be a bit of a creep. Why do you reckon he did that? Forge the prophecy, I mean. He must have been desperate for something. It takes a lot of ancient magic and if he gets found out, I bet Dumbledore'd get the Kiss.

Anyway, I'd better go, Mum wants me to floo Charlie to see if he knows where you are. To be honest mate, I don't think he even knows what's going on! Oh, we told Seamus and Dean the spell for the letters and to send the letters to the International Owl Port. They heard about Neville's grandma and I guess they're pretty worried.

Say Hi to Moony, Bill and Neville for me. And before I forget, tell Bill he's in huge trouble for not telling Mum he transferred out of the country. I don't think I've seen her that angry, even at Fred and George.

Send a reply soon, okay?

Ron

--.--.--

Dear Harry,

How are you, Bill, Remus and Neville? I hope you are settling into our new home. Gosh, it's odd to think that you won't be joining us at Hogwarts in September! Oh, don't worry about this letter being traced; I got Tonks to put some spells on it. I made photocopies of the book I used at the library when Tonks took us into Muggle London the other day after we went shopping. They should be in the envelope, but the book they are from is really useful.

Dumbledore (I'm not sure if I can bring myself to call him Professor anymore) has been asking a lot of questions about where you and Neville are. I'm not sure whether he knows that we know that the prophecy was a fake. Professor McGonagall knows now that she was obliviated, but Professor Snape has made her promised not to confront Dumbledore about it. He (I mean Professor Snape) thinks that another memory charm could cause permanent brain damage because she's had so many. Madam Pomfrey said as much. So far, only Professors Snape and McGonagall, Tonks, Auror Shacklebolt and Madam Pomfrey know. We had to tell Madam Pomfrey because Professor McGonagall's condition was so precarious. She's really upset. I guess that she's gotten attached to you with all the time you've spent in the Hospital Wing.

I was thinking about the fake prophecy, and I was wondering if Professor Trelawney knew anything about it. Even if her subject is complete and utter rubbish, you did say that she was the one to make the prophecy in the first place. She doesn't seem like the type to do something like that, but neither was Dumbledore. I'll look further into this.

Make sure you all stay safe,

Love from Hermione

--.--.--

Neville,

We just heard about your Gran, mate, and we are so sorry. We know how important she was to you. Ron wrote that you'd moved to somewhere in America with Harry, but he won't tell us why. He told us not to tell Dumbledore that we were writing to you, so I (Dean) think he's got something to do with it. Seamus isn't sure, but he's keeping an eye on all of the wireless broadcasts and newspapers. They're still covering You-Know-Who's return and the incident at the Department of Mysteries, but there's been nothing about you or Harry going missing. Seamus doesn't think that Fudge is going to last another term and he's been keeping track of all the deaths and people gone missing.

Can you honestly believe that Malfoy's dad has gotten out of prison, scot-free! It's bleeding ridiculous. We're thinking of setting up the DA again this year - we're not sure who'll be teaching us, but we want to learn some extracurricular spells. We're not sure who we're gonna ask to lead; it won't be that same without Harry (make sure you tell him that, Nev), but we reckon Ron and Hermione will do the trick.

Make sure that you and Harry both take care, yeah? It's hard finding people to trust nowadays. Say Hi to Professor Lupin for us too. (And tell him he's still the best Defence teacher we've had!)

Don't forget to reply,

From Seamus and Dean

P.s. Not sure whether Ron's told you yet, but Ginny and Dean have started going out. The bugger didn't tell me until the other day - Seamus :)

P.p.s. Not sure whether you've figured it out yet, but Seamus is a nosy git who can't keep his mouth shut! - Dean

Oi! (Neville grinned at Seamus' script which was jarred, as if the parchment and quill were being fought over.)

--.--.--

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am pleased to inform you that had you stayed on at Hogwarts over the next two years, you would have become the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. You would have made Mr. Wood very proud indeed. Unfortunately I have had to give this position to Ms. Katie Bell. Ms. Weasley was also in the running for this title. However, I have enclosed a gift of both my congratulations and condolences and hope that one day you and Mr. Longbottom will freely return to us at Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House

(Harry gently tipped the envelope's contents in his hands and smiled widely as not only the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's badge slipped into his palm, but also a small, golden ball, easily identifiable as a snitch. Neville came in the room then and Harry showed him the letter as well as his OWL results which had him listed as having the best Defence against the Dark Arts score in the country. Neville grinned and said that not only had he managed to pass Potions, he had managed to achieve full marks in Herbology.)

)(0)(

Severus exited the International Floo grate at the British Ministry of Magic and made his way to a domestic grate. He called out the address of his Hogwarts quarters and disappeared in a bout of green fire. Once the spinning sensation had stopped, he entered his office in his quarters and promptly exited through the portrait hole. He had spent the last few hours with Lupin and the rest of their ragtag family, (reluctantly) celebrating as all of them (even Longbottom) were able to successfully thwart his attempts to enter their minds. After some cake and tea, he had to take his leave as he was called for yet another meeting of The Order of the Phoenix.

Severus quickly made his way to the Headmaster's office where Order meetings were now being held. Since Lupin had left, Potter and his Wolf had allowed Kingsley and Tonks tenancy of Grimmauld Place. The two new tenants had promptly refused entry to anyone who didn't currently know where Potter was and had renewed the _Fidelius_ charm, erasing the location from many people's minds, including Albus Dumbledore. When Dumbledore confronted them; Tonks said that unlike Black and Lupin, both her and her colleague enjoyed their peace and did not appreciate having people walking about at all hours of the night.

Severus had to commend her; he had never seen a more affronted expression on the old man's face before.

Reaching the gargoyle, Severus gave the password ('_Fizzing Whizzbees'_) and stepped on the rotating staircase. The door at the top was closed, but Severus opened it anyway, without announcing himself. He was glad that he did as he saw Dumbledore sitting with his back turned to the doorway, holding a ring above his head so that it would catch the light.

Severus' heartbeat quickened as he felt that ring exude an aura that was achingly familiar to his ex-lover and master's. He knew immediately what it was, and as he announced his presence and Dumbledore whirled to face him, hastily stowing the ring away on his desk, Severus knew that he had to get that ring.

He had to get that _Horcrux_.

)(0)(

* * *

So yeah, contrary to popular belief, nobody died and the ring wasn't a ploy against Remus, I will be explaining the issue with silver when it's appropriate.

A note on ages:

All of the Harry Potter characters have had their birthdates bumped up by ten years, making this the start of this story take place in 2006.

The birthdays were taken off of the Harry Potter lexicon so:

Remus - March 10th 1970 (instead of 1960) making him 36 having had his birthday.  
Bill - November 29th 1980 making him 25, not having had his birthday yet.  
Harry - July 31st 1990, making him 16 after his birthday.  
Neville - July 30th 1990, making him 16 like Harry.

This means that Twilight characters will have their birthdates bumped up by a single year so:

Bella - September 13th 1989 (rather than 1988) - will be 17 upon arrival in Forks, having had her birthday.

The vampires will more than likely keep their birthdays. Also, the thing about vampires eating was an exploitation of my creative licence (If Meyer can make them sparkle, I think I'm allowed to let them eat cake). The Cullens pretty much eat for Esme's sake and to keep up appearances though they avoid eating human food whenever possible e.g. at work or school. I'll explain later on how the whole digestion idea works.

Next chapter will include Harry and Neville off to school and we get to see what's going on with Dumbledore, until then!


	7. I Caught You Way Worse

AN: When Ron says 'Nought', it's pronounced 'Nowt' - The last time I used 'nought' I spelt it as 'nowt' by accident. I've read some fics where the authors seemed to get the dialects/speech patterns pretty (sometimes very) wrong, even if they cut out the Americanisms - for example, I have never ever heard anyone say the word 'chit'. Anyway, I'm basing most of the British character's dialects off my own and the people I know and I'm toning it up and down based on the character's age, personality and background. On the same note, a reviewer pointed out that I had used 'canteen' rather than 'cafeteria' several chapters back, so I'm gonna make my policy on Americanisms clear: Unless it's an American character's thoughts or dialogue, I will be using British terms and I will always use British spelling.

Now that that's clear, I guess I can start grovelling. I had a fair amount of this written up before I started university, but in the weeks which led up to me leaving I stopped writing because things were hectic and I was still settling in during the second half of September. In October I got pretty depressed about uni, I started hating it a bit and feeling useless, but I kinda got out of that funk once I got used to by schedule (twice as many hours as all of my other flatmates) and reading week started. That was last week and I stayed at uni because I still had Japanese classes. I also got really ill, and only managed to get this finished thanks to my flatmates telling me to take a break.

Thanks go to my beta SoapieSleeps for still putting up with me.

* * *

**I Caught You Way Worse**

_The sounds of this small town make my ears hurt,_

_Oh yeah, you caught me, but I caught you way worse._

_- Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends – Fall Out Boy_

____________________

Severus Snape sat at the dining table at The Burrow, listening with half an ear as Nymphadora Tonks talked to Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger about her Auror academy days. At the same time, Shacklebolt was informing Dumbledore and the Weasley parents about the 'lack of progress' in finding Potter. The boy's single correspondence was gripped tightly in the old headmaster's hand as he thrust it towards the Head Auror.

"I told you already, Albus! We've used every tracking spell that we can get our hand's on!" Severus looked up from Molly's stew at Kingsley's raised voice. "The boy's covered his tracks! There's nothing we can do. Even his hair won't tell us anything!"

'Hair? That idiotic boy!' Severus grimaced to himself. 'I told him to be careful!' He forced himself to loosen his hold on his spoon so that his ire would not be noticed by Dumbledore.

"Very well." The headmaster said in a defeated tone. "I will concede that I have been had. Hopefully Horace will not be as victorious when I see him."

"Horace? As in Horace Slughorn?" Arthur asked.

"Ah, yes, I am once again in need of a Defence professor and as nobody outside the school has taken interest in it, I must get Horace to fill in Severus' position." Here, Severus pointedly glared at Weasley and Granger, who were both openly staring at him.

"That was delicious, Molly." Severus complimented the older woman as he handed her his now empty bowl. The red-headed woman magically cleaned the bowl and set it back in the cupboard with the others.

"Thank you. Tonks, dear, I left the rest in the pot; it should keep for two days at least." Molly said before ushering her son and Granger out of their seats.

"Thanks, Molly, you're a life saver." Tonks said, looking at the cooker with some trepidation where the burnt remains her previous attempt at helping with dinner were still smoking.

"It was my pleasure. Come on Ron, Hermione, I know you've got work to do." Before they left, Granger threw them a polite 'Goodbye'.

Whilst Molly ensured her son and his friend were occupied, Tonks shot Severus a strained smile which turned to one of relief when the headmaster announced his departure.

"I must catch Horace before he moves again, goodnight." Dumbledore took his leave through the front door rather than the Floo like everyone else did, with Arthur seeing him out. Once the door slammed shut, Kingsley made a sound in the back of his throat to catch Severus' attention.

"I'm assuming you came over to talk and not just watch Dumbledore be stubborn." Kingsley intoned.

"Indeed, I had intended to ask if you could keep Dumbledore away from Hogwarts for at least a few hours, but I find it is now unnecessary. It is best if you do not inquire about my reasons." The last bit was spoken towards Tonks who had opened her mouth to talk.

"Then you'd best hurry and do what ever it is you need to do." Kingsley replied. The two Aurors walked the Potions Master and new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher towards the Floo grate in the Weasleys' front room.

"Tell Molly thank you for her hospitality." Severus said politely before grabbing a handful of the green, sparkly powder.

"I will, Severus." Tonks smiled. "You are always welcome at ours too, you know."

Severus nodded and was about to throw the powder into the crackling flames when Kingsley grabbed his arm. "You're still visiting them often, aren't you?"

There was no question as to who they were referring about. "Yes."

"How is Remus? Is he…well?"

"Yes. He is better now more so than ever now that he is free from this place. He and his ragtag Gryffindor have managed to make quite the family." Severus briefly delighted in the flash of jealousy that the Auror accidentally let cross his face.

Kingsley frowned in thought. "That's good then. You had best be off."

With a final nod and his destination on his lips, Severus stepped into green flames and found himself spinning towards his quarters.

Stepping out of his fireplace, Severus banished the fire and charmed the soot away before he cast several disillusionment and invisibility charms upon himself, thinking about the portraits which liked to gossip. The teacher found himself easily and quickly making his way up to the headmaster's office, not for the first time that week. Even his heeled boots did not make a sound on the stones that paved the old hallways of Hogwarts. Just thinking of the ring, the Horcrux that held a part of his ex-lover's soul caused his veins to be filled with adrenaline and his blood to thrum in anticipation.

Quickening his pace, Severus soon found himself at the entrance to the Dumbledore's office and the words '_Fizzing Whizzbees_' fell from his lips in a hushed whisper. If the gargoyle was perturbed by the password being spoken by an invisible man, he did not show it as he granted Severus access to the staircase. Severus did not wait for the stairs to begin moving and ascended them hastily before opening the door and entering Dumbledore's office. He shut the door behind him and leant against it, breathing deeply with closed eyes; he was far too tense. Severus then extended his senses, searching the spiritual resonance from Voldemort's Horcrux. Opening his eyes, Severus felt somewhat bereft when he did not feel anything.

'_For Salazar's sake! Don't tell me he kept it with him!_' Severus thought, not counting on the old man being so paranoid that he kept the artefact on his person. He surveyed the office and eyed the sleeping portraits with distaste and jumped when he found Fawkes staring at him intently. '_Fucking damned birds!'_ Unnerved, Severus kept his eyes on the phoenix, which flew from his perch onto the desk and turned to look at the teacher expectantly. The black-haired man took the hint and made his way to the desk, all the while conscious of the immortal bird's gaze that never wavered from him.

'It's still in the desk!' Severus thought. He recalled that first time he had seen the ring Albus had been holding the ring in both hands, but when Severus caught his attention, he transferred the ring to his…right hand, and his shoulder was twisted in that direction, so the Horcrux had to be in one of the right hand-side drawers. Putting on his gloves, Severus prepared to open the drawers when Fawkes jumped onto the floor and pecked lightly at the second drawer down. Casting several diagnostic spells on the drawer in question, Severus found no obstacles and tugged on the handle with some trepidation. He was disappointed when Voldemort's aura did not wash over him; however, he noticed a small wooden box with runes and sigils carved over it lying on top of some old and crumbling parchments. He recognised a few which were synonymous with secrecy and Fawkes' low trill confirmed his suspicions that Voldemort's ring awaited him inside. Severus gently closed the drawer with a quiet click and clutched the box tightly in his grip. He was making his way back towards the door when Fawkes gave an alarmed squawk, causing his stomach to sink; Dumbledore was close. Whirling back to face Fawkes, Severus understood that there was a reason that Fawkes wanted him to find the Horcrux and it was not so that he could get caught.

"You must take me to Malfoy Manor!" Severus hissed. "Now!" The urgency in his voice was almost tangible. He grimaced as the blasted bird flew straight towards him and encompassed his entire being in warm flames.

Once the flames subsided, Severus opened his eyes to find himself in Lucius' private study;, the blonde in question had lost his composure and gaped at Severus and Fawkes. "I…"

Severus turned his head to Fawkes. "Will you be returning to the Headmaster?" When the phoenix did not leave and merely tilted his head, Severus sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Very well, Lucius has a gilded perch in the den of his private quarters, you may go there." As soon as he finished his sentence, Fawkes vanished from his position on Severus' arm.

Lucius got up from his position behind his desk and moved toward Severus. "What in Merlin's name is going on?!?" He asked, gripping the short man's arms tightly in his hands.

Severus tried to resist the eyes that were scanning his face beseechingly, but found that he could not. "I found one of them."

"A _Horcrux_? Are you certain?" Lucius' hold on Severus tightened.

"I am. It is in the form of a ring."

"Where is it? Does Dumbledore know of its existence?"

"I do not know where or how he found it." Severus admitted. "He kept it in his office." He looked away, growing uncomfortable under Lucius' examining gaze.

Lucius brought a hand up to Severus' chin and tilted his face so that their eyes met. "Do not hide from me. What have you done, my love?" His voice became hushed in an almost dangerous tone.

"I stole the Horcrux, Dumbledore nearly caught me in the act so that bloody bird brought me here. It is in this box." Severus felt guilty as he withdrew the ornate box from his robes. He knew that there was already enough strain on their relationship. "I have not opened it."

The blonde pulled away with a hurt expression. "As if that means anything. You never act brashly, Severus. You knew about this before these late hours. Were you ever planning on telling me?"

Severus flinched at Lucius' accusing tone. "I only found out about it at the beginning of this week when I walked in on Dumbledore practically worshipping it. I had planned for Auror Shacklebolt to provide a distraction, however my replacement meant that it was not necessary. I took the opportunity I was given before the Horcrux could get _destroyed._"

"You could have been hurt…or worse."

"I was not thinking."

"So impulsive, Severus. It appears that you have changed."

"Finding out that your revered mentor pretty much killed two of your previous loved ones does that to a person."

"Voldemort is not dead."

"Right now, he is more than likely fucking your sister-in-law. He might as well be."

"But we have hope of restoring a past self. You must be relieved."

"What makes you say that? You think that as soon as he remembers my previous role in his life I will go running back to him?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Do you truly think so little of our relationship, Lucius? I am not so frivolous in my relationships. Despite Narcissa's interference, I am with you now. I want to be with you."

"What if…what if we do succeed, and he wants you again?" Lucius asked slowly as he sat on the edge of his desk.

"I admit that I do still love him, but no more than I love you. We will tackle that problem when the time comes, but for now…"

"For now, we shall enjoy ourselves as much as we can with our burdens." Lucius said as Severus crossed the room to join him as he held his arms open. They both kissed each other chastely in a way that both would say was timid compared to previous gestures. However, when Severus broke the kiss he had a worried expression on his face.

"Now you are hiding something from me. What is it?"

"He has called for Draco and is disappointed in me. I do not think I can successfully vouch for my son any longer." Lucius rested his head on Severus' shoulder as the black haired man rubbed his back, taking in this new development.

"I had expected as much. What does Narcissa have to say on this matter?" Severus confessed. His voice held no small amount of contempt as he asked after his lover's wife.

"She is still unhappy at the disgrace I have bought upon our family and is grateful for a chance at recovery. However, at the same time, Draco is our son and she worries about his well being as much as I."

"Where are they tonight?"

"Draco is with the Zabini family for the weekend and Narcissa is visiting Bellatrix. Both will be back on Monday evening."

"Then, will you let me take care of your wellbeing? Even though I cannot lift the weight from your shoulders, I can help ease the pressure."

Lucius smiled softly and Severus found himself in awe of this wondrous expression. "I'd like that."

Severus could feel that smile against his lips as Lucius' mouth moved against his and sighed when the other man pulled away, this time with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You must have been pretty desperate to go anywhere near that bird." Lucius commented slyly, his smile turning into a smirk.

The Potions Master grimaced, thinking of all the ways he had previously avoided the Malfoy estate's resident peacocks. "You have no idea."

Lucius' rich laughter filled the halls of the mansion as the couple made their way to the blonde's bedroom.

)(0)(

Ron smiled encouragingly at his mother as she levitated a large cake over to the dinner table where he was sat with his father, Ginny and Hermione. Molly hadn't been coping well since Fred and George had moved into the flat above their shop; she had started to cook more and more and Hermione said that it was the start of 'empty nest syndrome'…whatever that was.

"This looks delicious, Love." Arthur complimented as he began slicing the cake. Even though the portions were generous (even by Ron's standards) there was more than half of the dessert leftover.

"Maybe we can take some for the twins when we go and have a look at their shop." Ginny suggested.

"Actually, I was thinking of giving some to Bill and Remus when we go and visit them."

Ron yelped as he bit his tongue. He shared a look with Hermione.

"Oh. When are they expecting you?" The brunette asked.

"Actually, it's going to be a surprise. Bill's been so quiet lately; did you know I only found out that he and that French Veela broke up earlier this week? I knew she was no good for my son."

Hermione put down her fork. "That's so sad for Bill." She said awkwardly not having been close to either Bill or Fleur. "But are you sure that's okay? I mean what if you go and they're at work or something?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Bill never was good with housework was he, Molly?" Arthur looked at his wife as Hermione floundered.

"Or what if they're sleeping?" Ron piped in. When everyone looked at him he clarified. "You know, what with time differences."

"You are right Ronald! I shall owl Bill at once!" Arthur declared enthusiastically as he stood up, having finished his chocolate cake. He left the kitchen-diner after pressing kisses to both his wife's and daughter's cheeks and ruffling his son's hair. Ginny also left the table, on the grounds that she wanted to listen to a show on the wireless, but Ron was certain that she was up to something. He flushed as he turned back to find Hermione beaming at him.

"What?" He hissed suspiciously - girls did not smile for no reason.

"Nothing!"

"If you say so…" Ron cast a wary look over his shoulder towards the muggleborn witch as he went to help his mum with the dishes. They were halfway done when a loud knocking could be heard at the front door. Molly jumped, startled and hurried to the door, flustered, to tend to their unexpected guest. A momentary silence passed between the two friends as Ron scrubbed at a stubborn stain. It was broken when Hermione began to talk.

"It's going to be different this year, with Harry gone. Things aren't going to be the same." She sniffled unhappily.

"Oi, cheer up! We can always visit Bill and Moony over the holidays, you know." Ron said uncertainly, not sure how it was possible for 'Mione to suddenly become so sullen.

Both were prevented from saying anything further when Molly came back in the room.

"Ron, dear, Albus wishes to speak with you." She announced anxiously. True to her word, the old wizard entered after her, but what caught both Ron and Hermione's attention was the disturbingly familiar potion that Dumbledore held in one of his hands.

"Ah! Ron m'boy! I was wondering if I may steal you away this lovely evening!"

The redhead hid his grimace at the shear thought of once again consuming the sludgy _Polyjuice Potion_ and nodded. "Is it something to do with Harry? Have you heard from him?"

"Not exactly no." Dumbledore confessed. "There's an old colleague of mine who I need the help of in order effectively fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort, however, first I need his cooperation. And that is where I need you services."

"But what can I do?" Ron asked even though he had a funny feeling about this.

Dumbledore uncorked the large flask and dropped a single strand of hair inside of it. "Simply drink one mouthful of this." He said offering it to Ron.

The teenager looked at his mother and his friend uncertainly, trying to get hints on what he should do from either of them, but both of their eyes were riveted on the contents of the flask which slowly fizzed and turned golden.

The youngest Weasley male took the flask from the aged hands and brought it to his lips. _'Well,'_ he thought, _'it could be worse. Nothing could be as bad as Crabbe.'_ Ron was right about the taste. It was sweet, slightly chocolatey with a fruity taste that Ron couldn't identify. If this was a different situation, he would have cracked a joke about Harry's romantic tastes.

Ron groaned and placed a hand to his stomach as he felt himself shrink. This sensation was completely different to the one that he experienced when he pretended to be Crabbe. The Slytherin had been larger than Ron and as such, despite being taller, Ron had had to undergo the pain of having bulk added beneath his changing skin. Now, Ron felt weird as fat and muscle were taken away from his form. His eyes burnt as they changed to accommodate Harry's short-sightedness. He vaguely registered a brief tickling sensation on the back of his neck as his own red hair shortened to his friend's messy black mop but this was overshadowed by the intense nausea he felt.

Ron clenched his eyes shut as if that action would help prevent him from throwing up all over his mum, Hermione and Dumbledore (even if the latter did deserve it), and swayed when he heard his mum calling his name worriedly. The worse was soon over and as Ron opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was that Harry really was blind and upon tilting his head back to look at 'Mione and Dumbledore's blurred heads he was glad that he was as tall as he was because it must suck to be so short all the time. Well at least Harry was taller than his mum; he could retain some dignity there.

Ron's clothes were now massive on Harry's body and the redhead was quick to point that out along with the fact that he couldn't see a damned thing.

"Ah, how careless of me!" Dumbledore waved his wand and Ron's clothes changed to more fitted muggle regalia which he could imagine Harry wearing (even though there was no oversized jumper to be had). "Here these should do the trick, some spares that Poppy had on hand." The headmaster produced a replica of Harry's glasses from inside his robes and Ron wrinkled his nose as he put them on, not used to the feeling of having them on his face. He was happy when his vision cleared.

"How long are you going to be? It _is_ late after all." Molly inquired.

"No more than half an hour, not to worry!" Dumbledore said jovially. "It's just a quick visit. Now Mr Weasley, if you'll take my arm, we can go."

"Okay." Ron gulped, still finding bloody odd how his voice came out sounding like Harry's. As soon as his hand was rested in the crook of Dumbledore's arm, Ron winced as the world twisted with a deafening crack, and he experienced the sensation of being sucked through a tiny tube of sorts.

--.--.--

Hermione wrung her hands fretfully as she paced around the Weasley living room. It felt like Ron had been gone for several hours rather than twenty minutes. Mrs. Weasley was upstairs with her husband and daughter, waiting out her own anxiety there. The young witch was glad that Harry had refused to tell them where he was exactly, now that she knew what sort of a person Dumbledore was;, she wouldn't put it past him to use _Veritaserum_ or Legilimency. Hermione was snapped out of her reverie when she heard the front door open then slam shut. Hermione drew her wand, but almost dropped it in surprise when she saw Harry come in through the door… a taller and bulkier Harry…with hair that was rapidly turning ginger.

"RON!" Hermione cried out in relief just before she leapt at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ron accidentally dropped his cloak on the floor as he tried to wrestle himself out of Hermione's embrace (even if he did think it felt a bit nice). "Bloody 'ell woman! Stop strangling me!"

Hermione stepped back awkwardly. "Oh…urm…sorry." She blushed heavily whilst thinking that it was odd to hear Harry's voice and Ron's speech mixed together. "How was it? What did you have to do?"

"Nought much really. He made me meet this Slughorn bloke to get him to come to Hogwarts. He's a bit of a kiss up really; he had all these photos of celebrities."

"That's it?" Hermione asked sceptically as they heard Ron's parents descend the stairs.

"I know what you mean. Though I'll tell you one thing, I'll never wish to be Harry again; Dumbledore's bloomin' nuts!"

)(0)(

Harry couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach; he wasn't sure what was worse: facing off a swarm of grindylows or starting a new school. At both his Infant and Junior schools in Surrey, Dudley had seen to it that not even the teachers would have a shred of sympathy towards the scrawny, young orphan. There had been no hope for the other easily influenced kids. However, Harry hoped that starting at Forks would be somewhat different. After all, it would just be him and Neville with no Dudley or Malfoy to torment them. He grabbed his school bag from the worktop as he shoved the rest of his slice of toast in his mouth before he hurried to meet Neville who was waiting by the front door, impatiently glancing at his watch.

"Sorry." Harry apologised sheepishly; he had been running about the house for at least half an hour gathering things that he had forgotten to pack the night before.

"Don't worry about it. We have plenty of time." Neville smiled. He locked the front door behind them, as Bill and Remus had already left for work twenty minutes earlier after wishing them both good luck.

"Do you want to drive or shall I?" The green-eyed teen asked. He juggled his bag and folders as he unlocked the boot of the car he shared with Neville. They were both splitting the costs for fuel, maintenance and insurance on the red, second hand Nissan Altima that Remus and Bill had contributed some money towards.

"Well, seeing as I was waiting on you for so long... you drive." Neville said teasingly. They had both passed their driving tests a few days earlier after an intensive set of lessons.

The drive to the local secondary school ('_High school!' _Harry had to remind himself) took about fifteen minutes whilst following the speed limit. It was a somewhat refreshing prospect; to have his 'home' life and school life separate. But he did have to wonder how many students there were exactly; not only was the town small, but there would also be only four year groups. It seemed like it would total up to a small amount. Trying to be inconspicuous would be harder than he expected.

Actually, scratch that. From the looks that he was getting as he pulled into the parking lot that he had almost missed, hiding in the crowds would be impossible. Whilst Harry got out and locked the car with a small grimace, unfortunately used to having people stare at him, Neville kept his eyes peeled to the ground, disliking the interested gazes that were locked onto his body. Harry tugged his jacket closer to his body, surprised by the chilly wind.

"I think we're meant to go through there." He gestured to the main entrance of the building where he supposed the administration department was located.

"Yeah, let's go." They trudged their way to the administrative office and got their timetables whilst patiently fending off the questions that the women behind the desk were throwing at them. It was easy to tell that there wasn't much excitement to be had in this town which was a borderline village. Luckily for both teenagers, there were only a few lessons that they would not be sharing this semester. Apparently, Remus thought it would be better for the boys' social skills if they weren't together all the time.

Personally, Harry thought to himself as he and Neville made their way through the corridors of Forks High School, Remus would never say anything like that again if he saw the way the other teens were reacting to the two British newcomers. He was surprised that nobody had attempted to introduce themselves yet. Maybe the nervousness of the new school year was being a distraction. Only God (and maybe some unfortunate souls) knew what it was like to transfer in during the middle of term. _'Ouch.'_

Both of the teenage wizards entered the doorway of what they hopeds to be their first class – literature - and were met by the sight of tall, portly and balding man penning his name with flair against the whiteboard. Apparently, they were among the last stragglers as most of the seats had been filled up by other students who were noisily chatting to each other.

"Umm, excuse me?" Harry piped up, trying to speak up over the noisy din. "Is this the third year Literature class?"

The teacher turned their way, and Harry could only describe his face as being 'jolly'. "Indeed it is Mr. ...I'm sorry, I don't quite recognise you... have I taught you before?"

"Well, actually..." Neville began.

"No! Don't tell me! I endeavour to remember all of my students' names and faces...well, at least during school hours..." The teacher, Mr. Lough, tapped the point between his eyebrows as he tried to focus.

"What Neville meant to say, um, Sir," Harry tried again. "Is that we're new here."

Mr Lough's eyes lit up in joy. "Oh! Of course! New students! Jolly good." He took some sheets from the stacks of paper on desk and handed one of each to both Harry and Neville. "Right, this here is a list of classroom rules, all standard paperwork, I'm afraid boys. The green pack is the outline for this year with some useful websites at the bottom. And the yellow one has this year's texts in bold - which I am afraid that you will have to buy – some study guides in italic, should you need them, and some useful background texts which I am sure are in the library. Oh, and at the bottom is my email address should you need _any_ assistance."

"Eh, thank you, Sir." Neville smiled as he absent- mindedly leafed through the papers.

"Not at all, Mr. ..."

"Oh! It's Mondstrahl. I'm Neville and this is Harry."

"Well, Harry and Neville Mondstrahl, I'm Mr. Lough, but I think you'll soon find yourselves joining your new classmates and calling me by my given name, Geoff. Welcome to Forks High."

"Erm thanks. Where should we sit?" Harry asked, not liking the way the class had sensed that the conversation was drawing to an end and were now looking at the front expectedly.

"Well, you can sit between Miss Cullen and Mr. Newton, Harry, and you, Neville, can sit next to Miss Weber by the window...just as soon as you introduce yourselves to the class." Mr. Lough took in their expressions and chuckled to himself. "You'd best get it out of the way, like ripping off a plaster."

Harry and his friend reluctantly twisted to the front as Mr. Lough unnecessarily announced their presence.

"Umm, hi." Harry began nervously. "My name's Harry Mondstrahl, and I'm from England. Well, Surrey to be more precise." At the few blank looks he was receiving, he clarified. "It's near London. Err, I turned sixteen in July and I've been in the country with my family for just over a month. And, and... that's it... I think?" Okay, so maybe Remus was right. Maybe he did need some social skills.

"I-I'm Ne-Neville Mondstrahl, I turned si-sixteen the day after Harry. My home town in England is called R-Reading which is also near London, I guess. Actually, I'm from a small village _near_ Reading, but people tend not to recognise it. Urm... Harry and I met each other when we were eleven on the train ride to our old boarding school."

Before Mr. Lough could dismiss them to their seats, a girl stuck her hand up. "Wait, I thought you guys were like related or something. I mean, some of us have seen you around, you totally live together."

"Now, Miss Sanchez, that is a bit of a sensitive question isn't i-"

"That's right. Uncle Remus adopted me and Neville this summer. He's a mutual friend of both our parents."

"And like, where are they, and is Re-mus the hot stud you're living with?" The same girl asked, popping the gum she was chewing on.

"Miss Sanchez-!"

"I'd prefer not to say." Neville said quietly, earning an annoyed scoff from their interviewer.

"My mum and dad died when I was a baby. I'd been staying with my aunt and her husband since then, but now I'm staying with Uncle Remus and Bill. I think Bill's the bloke you're on about'. He's our mate's eldest brother, and he's living with us because he has a job in Seattle. But, I think he's a bit out of _your_ league." Harry scowled at the girl, whilst hoping that he'd managed to carry his voice as much like Malfoy or Snape as he could in that last sentence. Just because everyone at Hogwarts and in Wizarding Britain knew his business didn't mean that he was happy to let some bird make Neville feel low.

"Well... that was certainly... informative. Now Neville, if you'll sit next to Miss Weber by the window, ah, yes, thank you Angela. And you, Harry, I believe I placed next to...Mike Newton." Mr. Lough ushered the boys to their seats, Neville was sat near the front between an overgrown spider plant and a friendly looking girl who he was already talking to, whereas Harry was sat at the back next to a pretty girl who looked quite short, and a guy who was fairly good looking, but unfortunately appeared to be the epitome of heterosexuality.

"And Miss Sanchez, I need you to stay behind so we can have a _little_ chat about tact and manners. Okay?" Mr. Lough said before returning to his position at the whiteboard. "Now then guys and girls, welcome to another exciting year of high school. Let's talk about assessments, shall we?" There was a collective groan.

Harry smiled politely at the brunette girl he had been place next to and gave a whispered 'Hi' before turning to the bloke on his left who was gesturing at him. "Man, Leanne shouldn't have grilled you like that. She was being a total bitch. I'm uh...real sorry about your parents."

Harry blinked at that, confused for a bit. No one had ever said that about his parents or Sirius. "That's okay," he smiled back warmly. "I've had a long time to get over the fact I'm an orphan. I'm just grateful I have the family I have around me. It's not all about blood, y'know?"

"I get that, I guess. I'm Mike, Mike Newton."

"I'd be worried if you weren't." Harry chuckled quietly. "Harry Po-Mondstrahl."

"I know. Hey, we have some space on our usual table; do you and your...brother wanna sit with us at lunch? Angela'll be there so he'll definitely know somebody. Would that be cool with you guys?"

Harry turned towards Neville and saw him and Angela exchanging whispers with their heads bowed towards each other, engrossed in their quiet conversation.

"That'd be cool." He grinned, turning back to Mike.

_'Just like ripping off a plaster, huh?'_

_

* * *

_

AN 2: I know it's short (at least compared to my normal posts), but I wanted to get this out ASAP and it would have been another month if I had waited. As usual, I can be contacted through my live journal (my username is Bittersweet_mis), I should be able to start on the new chapter soon and the poll for the pairings is still on going and can be found on my profile if you have not voted already. If there is another pairing you would like to see, please let me know :)

Thanks for the feedback and being patient with me.


	8. UP FOR ADOPTION

Hi everyone,

It's been over a year now, and I'm sorry that I've been so indecisive with the future of White Flag.

I was in talks for the better part of the year with another author on this site to adopt this fic. However, seeing as nothing has been posted, I have decided to move on and sort this out before I move to Japan for the year.

So White Flag is officially up for adoption and I would like to work with whoever I decide on giving my baby to, whether it's betaing, co-writing or chatting and sharing ideas.

Yep, instead of first come, first served, I'll be making the final decision based on the other author's compatibility with myself and their quality of writing.

I do want to see this story finished as much as the next person, but my lack of love for the Twilight fandom isn't helping at all. So I look forward to hearing from everyone interested in helping this story get to the ending that I envisioned.

So if you would like to adopt and work with me, please private message me, review, or email me at the address listed on my profile page.

Bittsweetmis xx


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